Starting From Square One
by T. R. Dowden
Summary: Mara is gone; however, the Troubles remain. But Duke thinks he has the solution-he takes Audrey's place in the Barn, and returns to Haven 27 years later, to face the Troubles for what he hopes will be one final time.
1. Square One

In the days that followed after Duke's release of the Trouble bomb Mara had planted within him, things had steadily worsened in Haven.

Charlotte had known there was only going to be one solution, and so she rebuilt the Barn, much to Nathan and Audrey's dismay.

"There is just simply no other way to reverse the troubles," Charlotte said sadly. "Audrey must go away again."

"But I don't want to lose her again," Nathan said.

It had taken a hell of a fight, but Audrey was once again the only one in charge of the form that had been Mara, Charlotte's daughter.

It had broken Charlotte's heart to subdue her true child once and for all, but she knew that Mara's obssession with the Troubles had driven her to madness to the point where she cared about no one or nothing anymore, not William, not even her family, and had helped Nathan and Audrey to force out Mara for good. Even if she had killed her one true love, the Troubles would not have stopped.

But fate could be cruel; even though it was now Audrey in charge of Mara's body, she was still viewed as the source of the Troubles. Someone had to pay the price.

Duke stood off a little to one side inside the Barn, watching Nathan and Audrey holding on to one another and crying.

Since Mara had turned him into a font of Troubles, he knew in his heart that there was no hope of his recovering from it. A normal life was not in the cards for him at this juncture. _But maybe a different one_, he thought.

"Then take me," Duke spoke.

The three gasped. "Take you?"

"Mara supercharged me with Troubles," Duke said. "I've absorbed enough miseries from this town to keep away from Haven for 2700 years, much less 27," he went on. He looked at Audrey. "Five hundred years is a long time to pay. Audrey's suffered enough."

"Would—would the Troubles even go if he went instead of me?" Audrey asked.

"Could she Trouble me one last time, get it out of her system?" Duke asked Charlotte.

"Actually, I think that they might," Charlotte said. "You could infuse _all_ your power into Duke. But in doing so, in infusing the last of your power into him, you would lose your immortality, and he would gain it. You'd age from this point on, as a normal woman would," she continued. "Can you do that, give up your immortality?"

"I could, for Nathan," Audrey answered. "But I can't ask you to to do that, Duke! You don't know what you're giving up!"

"An impossible existence in a town that hates me?" Duke asked. "There's nothing here for me, Audrey," he went on. "You know it, Nathan knows it, Charlotte knows it, and I know it. " He paused. "There's too many bad memories here for me," he said, more to himself than them, thinking of Jennifer and her tender smile. "If I stay here, eventually either I will die from aether poisoning or someone kills me, or most of Haven dies because of some Trouble I unleashed. I can't be fixed."

Nathan's heart ached a little as he recalled the Chief saying the same thing before he'd exploded into a million pieces.

"What's the saying? The ship must have a captain," Duke said. "That's your job now, Charlotte."

"I can't ask you to do that," Audrey whispered to Duke.

"You didn't ask me. I volunteered. This is my choice to make," Duke told her. He gave her a small smile. "You and Nathan were always destined to be together anyway."

"Duke," Nathan said. There was so much he wanted to say and couldn't find the words, so he summed it up in one word: Duke.

"Shut up," Duke answered affectionately.

"So what does she have to do?" Duke asked Charlotte.

Charlotte took out a little locket, and opened it. Inside, lay a small spherical object that reminded Duke of aether; but this one was a whitish-gray, not black.

"Use it as you would aether," Charlotte instructed Audrey. "When you press it against Duke's chest, whatever remains of Mara and her Troubles will be sent into him." She looked at Duke. "And then he will return every twenty-seven years." She looked sad. "But you won't remember them anymore. The Barn will erase your memories of them and of being Duke Crocker."

"Do it, Audrey," Duke said softly. "It's time Haven's Troubles disappeared for a while. And this time, you don't have to disappear too." He smiled, his eyes bright with unshed tears, for in the Barn, the aether was nulled. "You can think of it as my wedding gift for you and Nathan."

Audrey picked up the little ball, squishing it in her hand, her palm a glowing grey, tears streaking her face.

Duke kept his eyes on her face, and she kept hers on his, committing every line to her memory, the crinkle of his brown eyes when he smiled, the little traces of gray in his dark hair, because it would be a long time before she saw them again, and pressed her hand against his chest.

Duke felt the surge of it enter his body, feeling it course through him harder than any high Troubled blood could have ever given him. His eyes changed to the same color as the grayish sphere for a moment, and then resumed their normal shade of brown, and he exhaled, hard.

"I feel-different," he said. "Like I'm me-but I'm not me. I'm not, am I?" he asked Charlotte, and she shook her head.

"No, you're not," she said. "Either one of you."

Audrey felt different too. She was _truly_ human now-and Duke wasn't quite human anymore.

"And now we have to go," Charlotte spoke. "Say your goodbyes, and then we must go."

Nathan hugged Duke tightly.

"I'll miss you," he mumbled. "I don't know how I can ever say thank you for what you've done for us."

"Ah, you can name your kid after me," Duke smiled. "I'll miss you too, Nathan."

Audrey clung to Duke sobbing, not wanting to let him go, but at the same time, feeling that she couldn't wait to get on with the rest of her life. She hadn't told anyone yet; but she was pregnant with she and Nathan's second child.

"I'll miss you, Audrey Parker," Duke whispered in her ear. He looked down at her, his eyes flicking to her belly. "Take good care of him," he told her. "And of Nathan too," he finished slyly.

Audrey looked startled, but smiled shyly, and looked at her mother.

"You take care of him," she said. "He's special—I guess we've always known that. I know I have."

"I will," Charlotte spoke. "But now it's time to go."

Before Audrey could answer again, suddenly, she and Nathan were outside the Barn, standing a few feet away.

Nathan looked at her and then back at the Barn, and then suddenly it was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving only a large square of earth where it had been.

He was so stunned for a second he couldn't speak; and then he realized that he could _feel_ the wind on his skin, his clothes against his body, and he looked at Audrey.

"I can feel," he marveled. "The Troubles are over. They're over," he cried, pulling her into his arms, and gave Audrey what had to be the longest kiss in the recorded history of Haven.

"For now," she smiled.

The next day, Audrey noticed something strange in Haven. No one, with the exception of she and Nathan, could seem to remember Duke. Not only that, but any photos he had been in, he'd vanished from completely, even the one of her as Lucy, holding a seven-year-old Duke's hand. Now she was alone in the photograph. There was no birth record, no driver's license, no Social Security number registered with the name Duke Crocker. Even Vince and Dave had no mention of him in their files. There had been a Simon Crocker, true enough; but he'd died childless years earlier.

Audrey even went to the docks. The _Cape Rouge_ was still there, but was owned by Gunnar Svensk; and apparently, had been for years.

"He's starting from Square One," Nathan had told Audrey. "As far as anyone knows, Duke Crocker never existed at all."

"But _we_ know," Audrey said. "Why do we remember him and no one else does?"

"Because we'll have to help him when he comes back," Nathan replied. "He won't remember us or Haven."

"What will he be like, do you think?"

"What was that Vince told you?" Nathan said, folding her in his arms. "That you always came back different; but somehow, you were always the same underneath. And that you always helped the Troubled. I think Duke will be like that too."

"I guess we'll find out in twenty-seven years," Audrey sighed.

A few months later, she'd asked Vince to sketch Duke, describing him from memory.

"Not a bad-looking young fella," he'd commented, looking over the sketch. "Does Nathan know you're having pictures of strange men drawn up? He's not the father, is he?" he teased, eyeing Audrey's growing bump.

"Vincent," Dave admonished sternly, and then looked at Audrey. "He's not-is he?"

"No-Nathan's his father," Audrey smiled at her tummy.

"Who is he, anyway?" Dave questioned.

"Just someone I dreamed about once," Audrey sighed, looking down at the sketch. "A long time ago."

The years passed, good years, happy years. Their son, Garland was born on April 24, Duke's birthday. Two years later, their twin daughters Eleanor and Charlotte, came along.

They bought a house along the coast, and their kids grew up, happy and healthy. Garland followed Nathan and Audrey into police work, joining the force in 2038. Eleanor now ran _The Haven Herald_ since Dave had passed away five years earlier, and Charlotte was a kindergarten teacher.

Audrey would occasionally think about Duke, and the times they'd shared together, she and Duke and Nathan, and of the life he'd given her with Nathan. Once, her daughter Eleanor, had caught her looking at the sketch.

"Who's that, Mommy?" she questioned.

"He's a friend of Mommy and Daddy," Audrey smiled. "He-he's not here anymore."

"He died? Is that why you're sad?"

"No, he didn't die," Audrey answered the inquisitive little girl. "He just-went away."

"Will he come back?"

"Oh, yes," Audrey smiled, tears in her eyes. "He'll come back. But not for a long, long time."

Nathan missed Duke too, although he would never have admitted it. Sometimes, Audrey would see him out on the porch, watching as Gunnar would take the _Rouge_ out on the sea, with a sad expression on his face. And when they would go to dinner at what used to be the Gull, she would see Nathan's eyes glance toward the bar, as if he expected Duke to be behind it, shooting the breeze with the customers.

Audrey and Nathan had made a pact to not keep secrets in their marriage; and they also talked often about what they would do when Duke did come back to Haven.

"We tell him what he needs to know about the Troubles," Audrey said to him one night on the porch swing after they'd put the kids to bed. "We don't hide it from him, like Vince and Dave did us."

"He'll probably think we're two old crazy people," Nathan sighed.

"Just like we used to think of Vince and Dave," Audrey replied.

_HAVEN, MAINE: JUNE 16, 2041 _

"Come on, Mom, we don't want to be late for Dad's retirement party," Garland or as they had nicknamed him, 'Duke' told her.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Audrey said. She'd always wondered what it would be to grow old; and now she'd found out, creaking joints, stiff knees and all.

Nathan was retiring as Chief of Police of Haven this evening; Dwight had stepped down after the Troubles had ended, opting to move up to the Yukon, where they would get sporadic letters from him. He'd married an Inuit woman, and they had two sons together.

The doors to Haven PD opened noiselessly, and she walked along with Garland, noticing him opening and closing his fingers with a strange look on his face. He looked so much like Nathan when she'd first met him it was uncanny.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied. "Just my hands feel kinda funny—like they've gone all numb."

"Did you hurt yourself?" she asked. Suddenly she wanted to see if Nathan was experiencing the same thing, and she walked faster to get to his office.

"No, I don't think I hurt myself. Hey, slow down, Mom, where's the fire?" Garland laughed, but Audrey ignored him, practically making the last few feet at a run.

The door opened as she reached it, and she saw Nathan, standing in his office, trying to work the brass buttons on his dress uniform.

He looked up as they came in, and she knew.

"I can't feel," was all he said.

Audrey felt her heart beat faster. "Do you think he's here in Haven already?"

"Audrey—if he is, you know he won't remember us," Nathan said gently. "So when we do see him, don't get all—hysterical." He exhaled. "But yeah, if the Troubles are here, he's here."

"You're one to talk," Audrey shot back, scanning the street outside Nathan's window, as though she expected Duke to come walking up the street. _And who knows? He just might_, she thought.

"Is _who_ here already?" Garland questioned. "Is Uncle Dwight coming?" he asked excitedly.

"As far as I know, he is," Nathan replied. "Gar, do you feel—odd?"

"Yeah," Garland said. "Like when you get a shot at the dentist—except it's all over me, like I can't feel a thing."

"Close the door, Garland," Audrey said. "It's time we told you a few things. About the Troubles."

"That stuff isn't real—is it?" Garland asked, grinning, but soon sobered when he saw the expressions on his parents' faces.

Eleanor and Charlotte came to the banquet, talking excitedly between themselves. They saw Audrey, and hurried over to her.

"I feel strange," Eleanor told her mother. "So does Charlie," she nodded at her sister.

"I know you do, honey. It's going to be okay," Audrey soothed. "But there's some things you guys need to know."

Nathan spotted Dwight and his wife, Kelly at the table. He went over to them just as Dwight was finishing hugging Eleanor and Charlotte, and shook Garland's hand.

"Nathan, long time no see," he greeted, then saw Nathan's expression. "What's the matter?"

"Dwight, I'd dust off that old flak vest of yours if I were you," Nathan said, and Dwight's mouth tightened in a thin line.

"Troubles are back," he said flatly. Nathan nodded.

"Knew I should've stayed in Alaska," Dwight muttered.

"Wouldn't have mattered, Dwight," Nathan told him, and Dwight nodded.

The next day, Nathan and Audrey were finishing boxing up the things in his office.

He exhaled hard, and looked around at the four brick walls. There were a lot of memories in here; some good and some bad, and he stretched out a hand to Audrey, holding hers in his.

There was a footfall behind them.

"Excuse me," a voice said. "Are you Chief Wuornos?"

Nathan and Audrey froze. They would have known that voice anywhere—even after twenty-seven years.

_Here we go_, Nathan thought, and turned around.

Surprisingly, he still looked like the old Duke, the same mustache and goatee, although his hair was neatly combed. He was wearing a dark brown suit and tie, which Nathan thought looked utterly bizarre on him, and he grinned. _Only time you ever saw Duke Crocker in a suit was in court,_ he thought._ Depending on the charges._

Audrey just stared at him, fighting the urge to fling her arms around him, but willed herself to keep still. There would be time enough to get to know one another again.

"I'm sorry to bother you," Duke said. "I'm trying to find out some information on Doris Felcher." He looked at Nathan, grinning at him as though he knew something, and he looked puzzled. "The lady at the desk out there said you knew her, and she sent me to talk to you."

He caught Nathan staring at him, and his brow furrowed. "I'm sorry—have we met?"

"No, no, I'm sorry. Y-you just remind me of someone I knew a long time ago," Nathan stammered, trying to keep the tears from his voice. He'd imagined this moment a million times, and he'd always told Audrey to not get hysterical when they saw him again. Now the moment was here, and it was all _he_ could do to not be hysterical! "I'm Nathan Wuornos, Chief of Police, retired," he stated, to see if that perhaps some shred of the old Duke remained, but it didn't register.

"Hi," Duke replied, shaking hands with Nathan, who looked startled a moment, and then recovered. _I feel him_, he thought. _I can feel his touch_.

"And I'm Audrey Parker, Nathan's wife," Audrey put in, extending her hand to Duke's.

"Nice to meet you," he replied. "Now, about Mrs. Felcher?"

"Yes, um, I'm afraid Mrs. Felcher died," Nathan got out.

"I know she died, that's why I'm here," Duke said. "My name's Paul Carter—I'm an estate attorney."

Nathan fought down a hysterical bout of laughter. "An attorney?" he said. _Charlotte's got a hell of a sense of humor!_ he thought.

"Yes, we knew Doris quite well," Audrey put in, glaring at Nathan. "And you did say you were an attorney?" she smiled. _Oh, Mother, you have a wicked sense of irony,_ she thought._ From smuggler and criminal to attorney. My, how you've changed, Duke Crocker!_

"Yes, an attorney," Duke/Paul said. "I came here to straighten out her estate for her family up in New York. I have my office there."

"Are you married?" Audrey burst out.

"Dear," Nathan scolded. "We've just met Mr.-Carter. She's kinda nosy," he told Duke/Paul.

"Small-town life, gotta love it," Duke/Paul muttered, and then smiled. "It's ok. Mother Superior asks me the same thing every time I talk to her," Duke/Paul chuckled. "And no, I am not married. My job doesn't leave me much time for a social life."

"No, it doesn't," Audrey murmured, and clutched Nathan's hand. "We kind of know how that is."

Duke/Paul glanced at his tablet. "I did have some questions, however. Your ME was kind of vague about the circumstances of Mrs. Felcher's death," he puzzled. "And she was cremated awfully fast," he went on. "I just wanted to get your input on whether or not you suspect foul play might have been involved."

Nathan made a mental note to laugh his ass off at this incarnation of Duke when he was alone, and thought how horrified the old Duke would have been to find out he'd been turned into a 'suit', as he'd called lawyers.

"Is there some joke I'm missing?" Paul/Duke questioned, looking from Nathan to Audrey. "I don't see what's so funny about my client's demise-her family's very upset about all this-they keep referring to some sort of trouble their mother had."

Audrey and Nathan glanced at one another, sobering. Doris had been cursed with a Chinadoll Trouble; and when the Troubles had returned, she'd been walking downstairs, tripped, and shattered when she'd hit the floor as though she were made of glass. And she hadn't been cremated-they'd merely pulverized the rest of Doris' remains.

"No, it was an accident. Some people are just superstitious about things," Nathan said. "Something happens in a small town, people tend to fly off the handle, call it supernatural or something."

"If you believe in that sort of thing," Paul/Duke said.

"You don't?"

"Well, I won't say yes, and I won't say no, how's that?" Paul/Duke smiled. "I'm willing to keep an open mind."

Nathan and Audrey smiled at one another. He'd learn the ropes soon enough. Audrey looked back at him, at those brown eyes that studied her, curious but kind, and she took his hand in hers.

"Welcome to Haven," she said.


	2. Ceramic Toes and Other Oddities

**2**

Ceramic Toes and Other Oddities

_Paul Carter is about to find out that he's not quite who he thinks he is..._

Paul Carter walked up the steps, and let himself in with the key he'd picked up from Doris Felcher's daughter.

He frowned, thinking on the couple he'd met at the police station. Their reaction to him had been so strange. They acted as though they knew him and were trying to see if he knew them as well.

"Guess they don't get a lot of strangers in this town," he muttered to himself.

He glanced around the living room, where Mrs. Felcher had fallen. Nothing seemed out of place, the room showed no signs of there having been any sort of a struggle.

_It was her Trouble that killed her,_ her daughter had said._ I want to know if I'll be next._

As far as he could tell, Doris Felcher had been an average upper-middle-aged woman who attended church regularly, paid her taxes, had many friends, and no enemies that he'd been able to find.

_So what was her trouble? _Paul thought. That Chief Wuornos had known something more, of that he was certain. But the official verdict had been ruled a home accident, nothing more, and Paul scribbled a note to himself on his tablet.

It was rather old-fashioned in this day and age to write by hand, but there was something comforting to him about using a pen and paper. It had been a gift from his employer, gold with intricate filigree work around it, set with a blue topaz in the cap and the top of the pen. It was heavy, but beautifully balanced as a writing instrument, and was one of Paul's most cherished items. It was a rare occasion he let anyone else use it.

He went to put the cap back on, and dropped it, the cap clattering to the floor, and rolling under a credenza.

"Dammit," Paul muttered to himself, and got down on his knees and looked for it. There it was, lying against the baseboards, next to what looked like a nut.

Paul prodded at the cap and the object with the pen and they both rolled back out from beneath the credenza, a few gray dust bunnies clinging to both.

He dusted off the the cap, and then glanced down at the object, his eyes widening in horror as he realized what the object was.

It was a human toe.

Paul pulled out his handkerchief and with a trembling hand, he picked it up, and examined it more closely.

On first glance, it looked like a real fourth toe, but it appeared to have been made from glass. He touched the base of the toe, and blood was on his hand.

He wrapped the toe back up in the handkerchief and dug through his pockets, searching for the piece of paper he'd written the Wuornoses' address on.

_If you have any questions about anything, you can come to us,_ Ms. Parker had told him.

He'd liked her; there was something almost—familiar-about her to him. And strangely enough, the Chief too, although Paul couldn't have imagined where he'd have met him before.

He went out the door, making sure it was locked.

"Whatcha pokin' 'round here for?" an elderly man asked from the porch of the house next to Mrs. Felcher's.

"I'm settling Mrs. Felcher's estate," Paul spoke, moving a little closer to him. "Why? Do you know something about her death?"

"Doris had her troubles, same as a lot of us," came the man's terse reply. "Don't need no damn outsiders poking their noses into business that don't belong to them," he finished, and went back inside, slamming the door behind him.

"Thank you for your assistance," Paul said to the empty air, and climbed back into his car.

He found the Wuornos residence easily enough, where he found Chief Wuornos out in the yard, chopping wood. It was turning colder in the evenings, and he was cutting kindling. He was only wearing a shirt, while Paul was bundled up in his coat. That guy m_ust be one of these polar bear types_, he thought. _Thirty-six degrees, and he acts like it's 65._

Nathan glanced up and saw Paul getting out of his car.

"Audrey!" he called to the house, and Audrey came out onto the porch. "Hello, D-dere, Mr. Carter," Nathan greeted as casually as he could.

"Call me Paul," Paul, or as he'd been known in a previous existence, Duke Crocker, said. "You said if I had any questions, I could come and talk to you."

"That's right," Nathan replied. "What can I do you for?"

"I found this, at Mrs. Felcher's house," Paul began. He removed the handkerchief from his pocket and unwrapped it just as Audrey joined them. "It looks like it's made of glass, but it's bloody. What the hell is going on?" he questioned. "Did she have a prosthetic foot made from glass? Or is this some weird medical condition I've never heard of that causes tissue to crystallize like this?"

"No, she didn't," Nathan replied, and drew a deep breath.

"Her daughter keeps saying her trouble killed her," Paul said, and thought a moment. "She seems to be under the impression that she's next. If this family's in some kind of danger-"

"Come inside, Paul," Audrey told him. "We'll talk." She rubbed Nathan's shoulders. "It's getting too chilly to be out here, Nathan."

They went inside, and sat at the kitchen table.

"Denise Felcher's right—trouble, or rather Troubles, run in their family," Audrey began.

"What do you mean, Troubles?" Paul asked.

Audrey looked to Nathan, who nodded.

"Show him," he said.

"Show me what?" Paul questioned.

For answer, Audrey picked up a pincushion, and extracted an upholstery needle from it, the needle gleaming wickedly, and Paul watched her with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

Nathan took the needle from his wife, and drove it directly into the palm of his hand, sinking it almost completely through.

Paul gasped in horror. "What did you do that for?" he blurted. "It must hurt like hell!"

"I can't feel that," Nathan told him. "I can't feel anything, period. That's my Trouble. It's my children's Trouble, they inherited it from me."

"Paul, Doris was not _in_ trouble—she was Troubled, there's a difference," Audrey went on, her tone soft and soothing. She knew with him she was going to have to do this right, or he'd flip out and leave, and then they'd either be stuck with being Troubled for 27 years, or worse, trigger Duke's memories-_and_ his Trouble-to come back.

"You mean she was like—him?" Paul answered, still looking at the needle, buried in Nathan's hand. Audrey nodded.

"Troubles are supernatural afflictions," she explained gently, seeing that Paul/Duke was bewildered by what she was saying. "They range anywhere from being able to make flowers bloom instantly to-smothering people by sucking all the oxygen out of the air," she finished, thinking on Kirk Bauer's curse that Duke had ended, the last before Mara had turned him into a Trouble bomb.

Nathan made to pull it out, but it was too embedded and he was too numb to get a proper grip on the needle.

"Here, you pull it out," Nathan told him.

"No," Paul said. "You need a doctor for-that," he gestured at Nathan's lanced hand. "_And_ for having your head examined," he finished pointedly.

Nathan got irritated. Apparently, the Barn hadn't _quite_ removed all of Duke's less-endearing traits, one of which was to be able to push his buttons at the drop of a hat.

"Dammit, you won't hurt me Duke, pull it out!" he yelled, and then realized his monumental error, his unhurt hand covering his mouth, eyes bulging.

Audrey's mouth flapped like a fish, but no sound came out. She couldn't believe it-27 years of promising one another they'd tell him when and if it was only _absolutely_ necessary, all gone in ten seconds.

"_What_ did you call me?" Paul said, his eyes wide and staring.

"Dude, I called you dude," Nathan protested, finally managing to jerk the needle out himself, but Paul shook his head.

"No, no, you called me _Duke_," he said. "Is that who you think I am? Some guy named Duke?"

"No, no—he-gets confused," Audrey placated, but Paul wasn't buying it.

"I don't think so-you've both been acting weird with me since I met you," Paul said hotly. "Now you tell me _why._ And what the hell's going on around this town."

"So much for breaking it to him gently," Nathan sighed.


	3. Glass Houses

_GLASS HOUSES_

_DISCLAIMER: This is a Haven fanfic, written from the POV that Duke is now a Trouble-solver. I do not own the rights to these characters._

_Paul gets to face his first Trouble; but it doesn't work like Audrey thinks it will._

Denise Felcher was hurrying home from the bus. She had to get home. She _had_ to.

She quickened her pace, and accidentally stubbed her toe on the curb as she stepped up.

She cried out in pain as she felt her toes break. The same Trouble that had taken her mother's life was now beginning to affect her, her joints already stiffening. If it didn't stop soon, she'd become as fragile as peanut brittle, the slightest impact causing her to shatter like a wineglass on a stone floor.

She felt something rolling around in her shoe, and realized in horror it was her toes, breaking all the way through, pitching her off-balance and she caught herself on her feet, feeling her ankles shatter.

"Raymond!" she shrieked from the gate, trying to crawl through it, her now-useless feet dragging behind her twisted out at unnatural angles. "Raymond, help me!"

Raymond, her husband, came out of the house, and saw Denise lying on the ground.

"Oh, my God," he said, and bent down, grabbing for Denise's arm. "Here, hold on, baby, let me get you in the house."

_"No, don't!"_ she screamed as Raymond stood up, breaking off Denise's arm at the shoulder.

Raymond dropped the arm in horror, breaking it further, and bent down to cradle his wife in his arms, holding her close. He kept hearing a cracking sound, like walking on a pond that wasn't frozen solid.

"Honey, what's happ-" he began, and Denise turned her head to face him.

"I love you," she said weakly, and then her head snapped off.

Raymond began to shriek with horror. He was still shrieking when the paramedics and police arrived on the scene.

At Nathan and Audrey's house, a glaring Duke Crocker, or Paul Carter as he was known now, stared accusingly across the table at Audrey. Nathan was on the phone with Garland in the next room, his voice murmuring in the background.

"I'm still waiting for an answer," he told Audrey. "Who is it you think I am?"

"I think that you think you're Paul Carter," Audrey began gently. "That for all intents and purposes, you are Paul Carter, attorney-at-law. You are that because that is the memory that you've been given," she went on, Duke's hand in hers.

"What do you mean, 'the memory I've been given?" he asked angrily. "I am Paul Richard Carter. I was born on June 10, 2006, at Holy Comfort Hospital. My mother's name was Karen, my dad's name was Alan," he went on. He fished out his wallet. "There—my driver's license, my charge cards, my gym membership, my key card to get in the building where I work—all with Paul Carter on them."

"Where are your parents now?" Audrey asked.

"They died when I was five. I was brought up in an orphanage, St. Stanislaus, in Poughkeepsie, New York. I moved to New York City when I was 19, I got my law degree from the University of New York." He shrugged. "You can call and check with the orphanage. I'm listed on the _state bar_ in New York," he told Audrey. "I am who I say I am, go on and check."

"I'm sure there is a Paul Carter who is an attorney in New York," Audrey said. "But it is not you. You're someone else. Your memories were manufactured for you, but they're not yours."

"You're crazy," Paul told her. He rose to leave, but his phone beeped, and he snatched it up.

"Paul Carter," he said, aggrieved, and then his face grew serious. "What? I-I'll be there as soon as I can," he said, and hung up. He looked at Nathan and Audrey.

"That was Haven PD. Apparently, my client's husband dismembered her," he said. "That he—broke her, somehow."

"Denise's Trouble kicked in," Nathan told Audrey, coming back into the room. "Garland tells me Raymond said she literally just broke apart in his hands."

"The family's Trouble is spreading, Paul," Audrey told him. "You have to figure out how to stop it before somebody else dies."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Paul shouted at her. "How am I supposed to stop one of these Trouble things?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure it out together, okay, Paul?" Audrey smiled, and held his hands in hers. "Trust me."

There was a long silence, and then Paul spoke.

"Oddly enough, I do," he said.

"We're old hands at this Trouble stuff—Paul," Nathan told him as they exited the house.

"When I do stop this—thing," Paul growled as they climbed into Nathan's old Bronco, now outfitted with a hydrogen engine. Paul looked at both Nathan and Audrey. "I want answers. None of this hokum you've been feeding me. The truth."

"I can tell you that now," Audrey said. "Your name was Duke Crocker, you were born and raised right here in Haven. You had a boat, the _Cape Rouge_. You had a bar, The Grey Gull." She paused. "And you were Troubled too."

"You were also a criminal," Nathan cut in, unable to resist. "But you were also our best and most loyal friend."

Paul, or Duke, searched his memory. He thought about the recurring dreams he'd had of a large boat. _Could there really be something to what they're saying? _ he thought.

"Can you prove any of what you're saying is true?" he asked them.

Audrey shook her head. "No, I can't. After you disappeared, all physical trace of you did too. And no one remembers you here in Haven, only Nathan and I remember you from before. Even pictures of you disappeared." She shook her head. "I don't understand that part."

"I don't understand any part," Paul snapped. "How do you know so much about all this?"

"I understand because it used to be me who would come and fix the Troubles," Audrey replied.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I stopped because of you," she smiled. "You took on my Trouble."

Paul began to say something else, but Nathan brought the Bronco to a stop.

"We're here," Nathan said.

He climbed out, walking toward the scene, where there were several tarps draped over the front sidewalk. He could see one of the younger deputies over by the side of the house in the shadow, puking up his danish and coffee.

_Kid, you ain't seen nothin' yet when it comes to the Troubles_, he thought. _I've seen stuff I see every time I close my eyes._

"Chief, what are you doing here?" Garland said. At home, Nathan was Dad, but when he had been on duty, he was Chief, just as his namesake grandfather had been with Nathan.

"This is Paul Carter, he's Ray and Denise's lawyer, he came down for Doris' estate settling," Nathan told him, jerking a thumb at Paul, who peered cautiously under the tarp with Audrey.

"What the hell?" he whispered, seeing Denise's body broken into shards. "What did he do to her?"

"Ray didn't do this, her Trouble did," Audrey told him. "And right now, their daughters are in that house about to trigger off their Trouble. Come on, let's go talk to them."

"What will I say?" Paul said.

"Troubles are triggered by emotions," Audrey began. "You have to find out what is causing their fear before their Trouble flares and they end up like this," she gestured to the tarp.

They made their way into the house, over to the sofa where two girls huddled. One was about fifteen, the other twelve.

"Hi," Audrey said softly, kneeling down by them. "I'm Audrey. This is Paul, he was helping your mom."

"Hello," Paul spoke, feeling unsure what to say next. In all his court cases, he'd never had a nervous butterfly, not even once, and right now, he felt like he had a whole flock of them in his stomach.

"Hi," the older girl answered, wincing. "My legs hurt," she whimpered.

"She's triggering—do something," Audrey whispered. "An-Annie," she said to the older girl. "Did something happen with your mom today? Was she worried about something?"

"She's been fighting with Daddy," Amy, the younger girl piped up. "He said he had to put up with Gramma more than anybody, wanted more money in their divorce settlement."

"Who, Ray?" Audrey questioned. "I thought he and your mom were happy. And that he liked working for your grandmother."

"Ray's our stepdad. He did like Gramma, a lot, and she liked him," Annie said. "Our Dad dad—he was fighting with Gramma over the sale of the business, said he was owed a bigger share. Told Mom he was gonna take Gramma to court and break her, break us all if he had to."

"And then she broke," Audrey murmured. "Now I wonder if Doris' fall was accidental."

She thought about Steven Halleck. He had a reputation as being something of a lowlife; and if he knew about Doris' Chinadoll Trouble, it wouldn't have been too hard to stage a home accident to get the old lady out of the way, leaving a large estate for him to fight his soon-to-be ex-wife for in court.

"I won't let him do that to you," Paul reassured the girls, putting a hand on Annie's shoulder.

"But then Gramma broke, and now Mom did too," Annie wept.

"I know she did, and I'm sorry," Paul replied tenderly.

Annie twisted her tissues around her fingers, and Paul watched with apphrension as tiny fractures spiderwebbed across her knuckles.

Almost without thinking, Paul put his hand against Annie's chest, where her heart was.

Audrey watched as a black inky blotch bloomed to the surface of Annie's skin, beneath Paul's hand, both of them crying out in pain.

_He absorbs the Trouble, just as he did when he was Duke,_ Audrey thought, watching as Paul pulled his hand away, turning away from the girls. _But it's not blood, it's aether. He didn't have to kill her to take her Trouble._

Paul fell back on his haunches gasping, and Annie fell against the couch, her sister Amy putting her arms around her.

"What'd you do to her?" she cried.

Audrey reacted quickly, pulling Paul to his feet and they ducked into the kitchen.

Paul opened his eyes, and she could see they were as black as that terrible day when he'd released so many Troubles after she and Mara had rejoined.

"It's all right," she whispered. "I'm going to see to Annie, and then I will be right back. Stay here."

Paul nodded weakly, and Audrey went back to the girl, checking her hands, seeing the fractures had gone.

"My legs stopped hurting," she told her sister. "I don't feel like I'm breaking apart anymore."

"Paul's gonna look after you guys," Audrey reassured them. "He won't let them arrest Ray. It's going to be all right."

She went back into the kitchen. Paul looked as if he were two seconds away from hitting the floor, and she leaned him against her.

"I'm here, it's okay. You did good, Paul," she assured him, her hand stroking the back of his neck, his arms around her as she supported him.

Paul couldn't say why, exactly; but he _trusted_ Audrey Parker, right down to his very bones. Chief Wuornos—well, the jury was still out on that one.

The black inky substance Paul had pulled from Annie vanished into his hand, and his eyes returned to normal.

"What was that?" he gasped. "What did I do?"

"I think you just cured your first Trouble," Audrey said.

"Oh. Well, that wasn't so hard," he half-joked, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes. "I thought it would be harder than that, the way you described it."

"It's all downhill from here," Audrey half-smiled.

"Somehow, you don't make that sound very reassuring," Paul replied, lifting his head and gazing at her.

Audrey would have said something else, but Nathan appeared in the doorway.

"Are you all right in here?" Nathan asked.

"My head hurts," Paul grouched. "I can't decide whether my head hurts from doing what I did or from what you've told me tonight."

"Why don't you stay the night with us?" Audrey asked. "We can talk all night if you want." She smiled. "I'll make us pancakes."

"I'd like that," Paul replied. "Except for pancakes. I'm more of a waffle man myself."

"Guess we could have those too," Nathan grumbled. He was beginning to wonder if If Duke really thought he was Paul Carter—or was he playing possum, as Audrey had done with Lexie?

They talked for hours that evening. Audrey told him as much as she thought he could process for now. Being told your entire existence was a lie, much less how Troubles work, was heavy going for anybody, from this world or the other.

Audrey watched Paul talk with Nathan at the kitchen table as she brewed coffee. She wondered if Duke's Trouble had been polarized, instead of keeping them all bottled up inside him, he was returning to retrieve the ones he'd lost that day Mara had set him off to release Troubles. He'd been like a Pandora's Box—bursting open, releasing Troubles into the world. Now he was back to try to put them back where they belonged. She hoped that his return to the Barn was to get the Troubles out of him, and the aether back into the void where it belonged.

She also wanted to keep the fact that he could absorb Troubles hidden, because if word of that got out, he'd be mobbed of people wanting him to take their Troubles away. If he were overloaded, she feared, it would be like filling a water balloon too quickly—too full too fast, and he might explode again.

_He released so many Troubles before, _she thought. _There are only so many he can re-absorb before he has to go back to the Barn. He could be here for six days or six years_. They were in uncharted waters now—and not even she could know the future.

Sometime later that night, Paul slipped outside in the chill evening air, and dialed his office in New York.

"Sylvia Bronson," Charlotte said on the other end.

"I figured you would still be at the office," Paul said.

"I was waiting to hear from you," Charlotte told him. "Everything all settled?"

"Well, that's why I was calling," Paul said. "There have been some developments in the Felcher case. I'd like to stay till this thing is resolved." He glanced out at the ocean, glittering under the moonlight. Being here in Haven was giving him the most bizarre case of _deja-vu_ he'd ever experienced.

"What's happened?"

He thought for a moment about telling his boss what had happened today; but knew he'd sound like he'd lost his mind if he did.

"Denise Felcher was killed—by a hit and run driver tonight," Paul told her, repeating the cause of death that was being listed. "She was in the middle of that divorce from Halleck. I want to make sure Denise's daughters get a fair shake in all this, and that Halleck wasn't behind the accident. I can't say I've been terribly impressed with the reputation this guy has." He paused, thinking over all that Audrey had told him tonight.

"I want to stay and make sure nothing else happens to the Felcher family," he said. _It's all downhill from here,_ Audrey had said. But he didn't think she meant that it would be all smooth sailing—she meant that it was going to get a whole lot worse before it got better. He didn't know what he had to do with all of it, but he intended to stick around and find out.

"I'm sorry to hear that about Miss Felcher." A pause, and then: "Are you all right, Paul? You sound a little strange tonight."

"Yes, I'm all right," Paul replied. "This town is—unique. Very colorful locals," he finished.

"Sounds interesting," Charlotte commented. "But I'm going to rely on your judgement, Paul. Yes, I think that you should stay, until it's resolved then," Charlotte answered. "Good night, Mr. Carter."

"Good night, Ms. Bronson," Paul answered, and hung up, thinking on what Audrey had told him. _Your name was Duke Crocker. _It sounded as odd to him as someone telling him his name was Joe Blow. He'd always been Paul Carter. _Always_. Hadn't he?


	4. I Dreamed A Dream

_I Dreamed A Dream_

_Paul Carter breaks on through to the other side of his mind to find...Duke Crocker._

Paul woke the next morning with a start. It'd taken him forever to go to sleep. He was so used to city noises, the deafening silence of Haven was quite a change.

He felt almost as though he had a hangover. His head and his body ached, but once he started moving around, he began to feel a little better.

He'd also had that boat dream again, and he determined that he was going to go down to the harbor later today and look for this boat that Audrey had told him about, the _Cape Rouge_. And if it was the same boat as the one in his dreams—he didn't know what he would do then.

But right now, his mind was on the events of last night.

_What the hell did I do to Annie Halleck? _ he thought as he bumbled around the kitchen. _What was that black stuff? Am I sick now from it, is that why I feel like this?_

It wasn't all just the quiet that caused his sleepless night. He'd lain there and thought on everything that Audrey had told him. _Your name was Duke Crocker, _she'd said. _But I can't prove it_.

He got up, and made himself a cup of coffee. He was in the midst of pouring cream in it when he heard a key in the door to the guesthouse in back of Audrey and Nathan's house.

He looked up, and saw a blonde-haired girl entering.

"Hello," he said.

She turned, startled, her startling blue eyes flashing.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize there was anyone staying here!" she apologized. "I was going to use the office there," she gestured. "Sorry to bother you. I'm leaving."

"No, it's okay," Paul smiled. She was very attractive. He could learn to like it here in Haven if this was the way things were going to be. "Would you like some coffee?" he offered. "There's enough here for two cups."

"Thank you," she answered, setting down a load of what appeared to be newspapers.

"You still have newspapers here?" he asked.

"It's kind of old-fashioned, but yes, we do," the girl said, and extended her hand. "Eleanor, or Ellie, Wuornos, I'm Audrey and Nathan's daughter. I'm one of a set," she chuckled.

"Yes, I met your brother last night at the Felcher house," Paul told her. "Paul Carter. But just call me Paul, please."

"No, I have a twin sister also, her name's Charlotte. And since you brought up the Felchers, I wanted to ask you about that," Eleanor said. "Is there-" she began, but Paul lifted a hand to cut her off.

"I'm sorry. I can't discuss it. Attorney-client privilege," he replied.

"Your client's dead."

"Doesn't matter—I'm still representing her daughters. I'm sorry, I can't talk about it."

"All right," Eleanor grudged. "Granpa Vince used to say I had newspaper man in my blood, I was a natural for reporting."

"You're a reporter?" Paul asked.

"Reporter, editor, most everything for _The Haven Herald_," Eleanor said proudly. "I run the local newspaper. The Teagues left it to Mom and Dad in their wills. Bill Snodgrass ran it, but he retired this year. Now it's all mine."

They settled into the chairs on the porch. Paul looked out over the ocean, his gaze settling on the lighthouse perched out on its stone jetty.

"You guys have a great view," he said.

"That's why Mom and Dad bought this place," Eleanor, or Ellie, as she preferred to be called, answered. "Dad likes to watch the ships sail out. So—are you going to be staying to represent Doris' estate? I heard Steven Halleck's already petitioned Raymond for custody of he and Denise's daughters," she went on, looking at him.

Paul studied her. She was really very pretty. She must have gotten it from her mother, her golden-blonde hair, her delicate features, but she had her father's china-blue eyes, that determined chin, and apparently, his stubborn streak, because he could see now that she wasn't about to let go of the Felcher affair.

Ellie too, was watching Paul. He was a little older than she; but he was rather handsome. Dark-haired, with just enough gray to give him some gravitas, dark-eyed, olive-skinned, his heritage anywhere from Native American to French to Italian, she guessed. He appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, he was single, according to Mom, and judging from his wardrobe, wasn't doing too badly for himself in New York.

She was wildly curious about him. He'd certainly had a peculiar effect on Mom and Dad; all they'd done since his arrival was have a lot of whispered conversations about him, and she'd overheard her dad use the name _Duke_. Something about that seemed familiar, like she'd heard the name before, and she tried to remember, to no avail. She shrugged it off mentally, and turned her thoughts back to Paul.

"So how's New York these days?" Ellie asked.

"Same as it always is—it's a dog-eat-dog world, and you're wearing a pork chop around your neck," Paul remarked drily. He looked at her. "You ever been to the Big Apple?"

"Yes, I've been there," Ellie said. "Dirty, noisy—it's fun, but I like it here, it's quiet." She looked out at the ocean. "Not much happens around here."

_Should've been with us last night then_, Paul thought, but nodded agreement at what Ellie had said.

Nathan was having coffee, strolling around the kitchen, and glanced out of the window towards the guesthouse. And there was Duke, sitting outside, chatting with Eleanor. He could see even from here that Duke was taking a healthy interest in his daughter.

"Oh, no you don't, Crocker," he growled, setting down his coffee cup with a thump.

"What's the matter?" Audrey questioned.

"Duke-Paul-whatever, he's out there drinking coffee with Ellie!" Nathan said, pulling on his coat. "He might have a new personality, but I can see that Crocker gleam in his eye all the way from here."

"Nathan, Ellie's a big girl, she can handle him," Audrey protested, grabbing her own. "He's not the same Duke anymore."

"Oh, he's still in there. I thought the Barn was supposed to give you a whole new personality," Nathan argued. "But I see more Duke Crocker than I do Paul Carter in him."

Audrey stayed him at the door. "Yes, there are some things that are still like Duke. It's only his first time, he hasn't had multiple layers of personalities laid over him," Audrey grinned, trying to lighten Nathan's dour mood, but he wasn't biting, and she sobered. She drew him down to the little bench by the door.

"I can tell you this much—the one thing that is like Duke is he absorbs Troubles, Nathan," she told him. "He doesn't just stop them from happening—he takes them away from whoever has them, and draws it into himself."

Nathan stopped struggling, looking at Audrey.

"He cut Annie, touched her blood? We know that's how his Trouble worked before."

"No, he-" Audrey thought. "It wasn't her blood, it was aether. Troubles are caused from aether—he pulled it out of her, somehow, he re-absorbed it into his own body," she told him. "It wasn't a high for him, Nathan—it hurt him. A lot."

"All the more reason for Ellie to stay away from him," Nathan said. "He could expel that Trouble into her. He may not mean to, but-"

"No, I think the Barn's reset him in some way. He can absorb Troubles, but I don't think he can expel them anymore." She thought. "I think he's designed to take the Troubles away—all the ones he released, and the ones he didn't. Like a vaccuum-he can only take in, not release. I think that's what the Barn helps him do."

"Sucks up Troubles till his bag's full? That could take awhile," Nathan mumbled. "The Troubles have only just started again."

"I know they have," Audrey said, hugging Nathan. "I hope we're doing the right thing with him. He has to be prepared to face the worst, I don't want to throw him to the wolves like I was done," she went on. "Duke, or Paul, needs to know what he's up against. Now—you're calmed down now. Right?"

"Yeah," Nathan exhaled. He smiled ruefully, and kissed Audrey's hand. "You haven't lost your touch with the Troubled either, Parker," he remarked, and then sighed. "I just don't want to see Ellie to get involved with him and then be hurt when he goes away." He stroked Audrey's cheek. "I know from first-hand experience how much that hurts."

"And the reason I'm still here with you is sitting out there drinking coffee with our daughter who wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him," Audrey pointed out. "So give him a break, Nathan. He looks like Duke, he sounds like Duke, and yes, he may even act a little like Duke, but he's not. He still believes he's Paul Carter."

"I hope you didn't damage him last night, telling him he's not actually an attorney, but some Trouble solver back from the sixth dimension or whatever," Nathan sighed, as they went out the back door, and towards the guesthouse, where Ellie waved to them.

"I hope not either," Audrey murmured.

"Morning!" Ellie greeted cheerfully.

"What brings you by so early?" Audrey asked, getting a kiss from her daughter. "Morning, Paul. Sleep well?"

"Not very," Paul said. He knew his face showed it. He might stop back by the guesthouse later for a nap this afternoon. But first, he wanted to get into town, deal with his late client's daughters, and see a little bit of what Haven was like.

Nathan merely glowered at him. He decided he'd keep a watchful eye on 'Paul' and see what he got up to today.

"You ready for breakfast?" Audrey asked Paul.

"Actually, I was about to get ready to leave. I'm meeting Raymond and the girls at Haven Joe's," Paul replied. "That's the cafe across from the newspaper office?"

"Yes, it is," Ellie said. "You mind if I join you?"

"I'm taking deposition statements from the girls, so it's a private meeting," Paul told her apologetically. "But maybe lunch somewhere?"

"I'd like that," Ellie smiled. "How about The Crow's Nest?"

Audrey wondered if going to the Crow's Nest would be such a good idea, as considering 27 years ago, it was The Grey Gull.

"Sounds good," Paul said, smiling wider. "I'll meet you there."

Nathan only glowered more, and Audrey felt a little bit of a jealous pang. She looked at her reflection in the window of the guesthouse.

N_ot exactly a spring chicken these days, are you, Audrey_, she thought. N_athan and I have grown older—but Duke's like a fly in amber—preserved forever. Or pretty close to it_.

Paul said his goodbyes, and went to Haven Joe's. The depositions went well. His opinion of Steven Halleck being an unsavory character was only intensified after hearing his daughter's talk of the arguments he'd had with their mother, of his verbal, and sometimes physical abuse of his daughters. He'd often referred to the Trouble in their family, telling his wife if he wanted to get rid of her, all he had to do was trip her and sweep her up afterward.

He headed out to the harbor, still thinking on the things that he'd talked about with Nathan and Audrey.

Paul found the harbormaster's office, and he directed him to the slip where the _Cape Rouge_ was moored. He was curious to see this boat that Audrey had claimed he'd once owned in a previous existence.

_Humoring older women, that's my life_, Paul thought, half-smiling to himself. He'd had a talent for it; probably the result of growing up in a convent-run orphanage. He'd always been a good student, high grades, stayed out of trouble—most of the time.

He rounded the corner of the warehouse, and was thunderstruck when he came face-to-face with the _Cape Rouge_.

"I don't believe this," he gasped. "It's the one from my dream."

He approached the gangplank, and walked up it, as though he were back in his dream. Only this time, it was very real.

"Help ya?" he heard, as Gunnar Svensk stepped out from the door that led to the bridge.

"I-" Paul stalled. His head was pounding, worse than it had last night, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Something was there, writhing behind his eyes, and in a flash, he saw Audrey and Nathan, but they were much younger than they were now, and—gone.

"I said can I help ya?" Gunnar bellowed. "Damn tourists," he muttered. "I don't do harbor tours."

"I-I'm sorry," Paul got out, the headache subsiding. "I just wanted to see what a big ship looks like."

Gunnar relented. "T'aint much ta see," he answered. "She's a 110-foot scallop dragger. Know what a scallop is, doncha?"

"Yes, I've eaten them before," Paul said.

"Well, this boat fishes 'em off the bottom of the ocean," Gunnar told him. "That answer your question?"

"Yes, thank you," Paul replied. "Do you know Steven Halleck, and where I might find him?"

"Try the Rust Bucket, he's practically a fixture there since ol' Doris fired him."

"Why did she fire him?"

"Cause he was robbin' her blind, doctored his shipping charts so he could pocket the excess. He's a real piece a' work, that one," Gunnar said.

"Would you be willing to say that in a court of law?" Paul asked, knowing it was a dumb question when he asked it. These old seamen might not like one another, but they all still followed the Pirate's Code when it came to the law.

"T'aint my problem," Gunnar said, and Paul nodded.

"All right. Thank you for your time," he answered, and made his way back down the gangplank.

He was headed back for the parking lot, when he saw a large man step out from behind a shipping crate.

"Hey," he barked at Paul. "Heard you're goin' around askin' questions about Steve Halleck. Stop."

"Why?" Paul said, feeling an ire rise in him that he hadn't felt before. He was usually even-tempered; this wasn't the first time he'd been threatened. _So why am I feeling so hostile now? _

"If you see him, I have some questions for him," Paul replied, keeping his voice even. "Concerning his whereabouts the night his mother-in-law died."

"Well, here's his answer for you," the big man said, and suddenly Paul felt a billion stars bursting behind his eyes as he was savagely clubbed from behind.

He fell to the ground and the two men began raining vicious blows on him, before a gunshot resounded through the harbor.

The pair took to their heels, and Nathan rushed to his old friend's side.

"Knew it'd be smart to follow you," he muttered.

Paul's eyes fluttered open, and then shut as he lost consciousness.

Nathan hauled him to his feet, and loaded him into the Bronco.

"Garland, I want you to get an APB out on two guys down at the harbor," he began, and gave a description. He cast a worried look at the crumpled form in the back seat. He didn't look good; and letting Duke get killed his second day on the job trying to solve the Troubles was just not going to sit well with Audrey.

Paul squirmed, moaning. Images were tumbling through his brain, stuff he couldn't make sense of. He kept seeing Haven, but an older version of Haven, there were people he'd never seen before, a woman, lighthouses, the boat, there was Audrey, but she was much younger, and surprisingly, his boss, before he finally jerked himself awake.

"Take it easy there, buddy," a woman in medical scrubs told him. "You have a slight concussion; lie still and rest."

Paul looked around him. He was lying on a stretcher in a clinic of some sort. There was an ice pack on his forehead, and a worried Nathan and Audrey over in the corner.

"Hi," Audrey said, coming to his side. "You okay?"

"I think so," Paul mumbled, trying to sit up, but the room spun around suddenly and he lay back down.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I ran into some of Steve Halleck's friends," Paul said woozily.

"I had Garland pick him up, see what he knows about his friends paying D-Paul a visit at the harbor. What were you doing down there anyway?" Nathan asked him. "Looking for Halleck?"

"Among other things," Paul exhaled. He didn't want to tell them about the boat dreams—or the fact that the boat he dreamed of was sitting out there in the harbor.

After the doctor released him, Audrey drove him back to the guesthouse, and fussed over him.

Ellie too, showed up at the house, and stayed with him while Audrey went back to the house to fix him lunch.

"You know, if you wanted to skip out on our lunch date, you didn't have to take such drastic measures," she smiled.

"I wouldn't have skipped out on you," he answered, and Ellie twined her fingers with his. _There was definitely an attraction there,_ he thought. "I was looking forward to it."

"So was I," Ellie said softly, moving closer. She leaned down, and kissed his bandaged forehead tenderly.

"Kiss to make it better," she smiled.

"Feels better already," he answered. "You and your family have been very good to me since I've been in Haven. Thank you."

"It's no trouble," Ellie told him.

The word trouble reminded Paul of the night before, what had happened with the girl Annie, and he asked Ellie, "Has your mom and dad talked to you about—Troubles?"

"A good deal," Ellie replied. "Mom said that Grandpa Vince and Granpa Dave were instrumental in helping with the Troubles." She frowned. "I'm Troubled too, you know."

"I know. Your Dad—demonstrated-his Trouble to me, said it runs in families," Paul replied. "That you can't feel anything."

"But I feel _you_, Paul," Ellie said softly. She took her hand in his again, her fingers curling around his, feeling the gentle pressure as he returned her gesture. "You're the first thing I've felt since the day before yesterday. Why?"

"I don't know," he said, watching Audrey approach with his lunch tray, Nathan in tow. "But I think those two know a lot of the answers."

"I do too," Ellie answered. "But they're not exactly forthcoming with them."

After lunch, and Audrey had made sure if he needed anything, all he had to do was call, and fussed over him some more until Nathan had practically run her out of the guesthouse so Paul could rest.

Paul slept like the dead through the afternoon and evening. The dreams began again—the images of another time and place, the boat, everything, tumbling over and over one another like a tidal wave until Paul lurched up in bed, his body covered with sweat.

He looked around him wildly. "That was a hell of a dream," he got out. He took a moment, and got his bearings. "Where am I?" he gasped, looking around wildly. The house wasn't familiar to him. It wouldn't be the first time he'd woken up in a strange bed.

He found a jacket, and lurched outside. Nothing in the landscape looked familiar. He spotted the house, and went toward it. Seeing Nathan's Bronco, he felt a little better, and headed for what looked like the kitchen door.

"Nathan," he called out, knocking. "Nathan!"

Nathan opened the door. "What's the matter, Paul?"

Paul staggered back with a startled cry, falling on his backside. "Nathan!" he cried. "Oh, my God!"

"Audrey!" Nathan hollered, and Audrey came running. Upon seeing her, Paul cried out again.

"Paul, what is the matter?" she questioned, worried. "You're just having a nightmare, that's all, it's okay, calm down."

"What the hell happened to you?" Paul asked, his eyes wide.

"What do you mean?" Audrey replied.

Paul stretched out a nervous hand, and touched her face.

"You're old, Audrey," he said, his voice trembling. "Is this some kind of a Trouble? And why are you calling me Paul?"

Audrey's eyes got as big as saucers.

"I had the _craziest_ dream, Audrey," he went on. "Is this some kind of age Trouble, like the one I had when Jean was born?" He thought. "I thought the Troubles would stop when I went into the Barn. But they're still here, because you and Nathan are having some kind of age trouble."

"They _did_ stop, for 27 years," she told him. "And this isn't an age Trouble. It's-" she couldn't go on.

"It's no dream, and this isn't a Trouble—Duke," Nathan said softly. "This is real."

"_Duke_?" Audrey choked.

"Yeah," Duke replied. "Who did you think I was?"

"Oh, this is not good," Nathan groaned. "This is not good at all. Now what are we going to do?"

"No, it's not," Audrey agreed. "And we'll figure it out."

"What's not good and we'll figure what out?" Duke asked.

"Put on some coffee, Nathan," Audrey said. "I think we're in for another long night. She pushed back Duke's hair from his forehead tenderly. "We have 27 years of history to catch up on with an old friend."

Duke Crocker shook his head. This was crazy, this was insane. But it was Haven, and he was long-accustomed to things like this.


	5. Not-So-Total Recall

_Not-So-Total Recall_

_Paul Carter regains his true self, Duke Crocker. Audrey wonders about the possible repercussions. But that's the least of her worries after Duke's identity Paul receives a shocking email._

Nathan Wuornos couldn't believe it. On the one hand, he was glad to see Duke return to his former self, and on the other hand, this was just about the worst thing that could have happened.

Duke had calmed down somewhat now, and was meditating out on the back deck, wrapped in a blanket. Nathan had never been able to calm his mind like that; to be able to sit so still and do nothing. He didn't see how Duke, a highly kinetic individual, could do it either, but he did it.

At length, he saw Duke get up and come back into the house. He sat down at the kitchen table, and he and Audrey joined him.

Audrey reached out and put her hand on his arm. Duke smiled gently, and put his other hand over her own.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Audrey asked. "The Barn?"

"Strangely, no," Duke said. "It's just like you've always said, Audrey, about having another person's memories—I can remember _being_ Paul Carter, I _was_ him," Duke continued. "I can remember arguing court cases, I can remember living in New York, taking the subway, going out for Chinese with my girlfriend. But _I_ didn't do all those things, did I?"

Audrey shook her head no. She couldn't understand why he was now Duke again—it had taken her a year of digging to find out that Lucy Ripley was not her mother, but that _she_ was Lucy Ripley, or had been. And then Sarah Vernon, before she found out just how far back it _really_ went. Duke was only on his first 'life'-and now he was back to being Duke Crocker. She just didn't understand it.

"Maybe that crack on the head did something to you," Nathan finally said. "I hate to admit it, but I'm kinda glad to see you again, Duke."

"Good to see you too—old man," Duke grinned, giving Nathan's mostly-gray hair the once-over. "But you're as pretty as ever, Audrey," he smiled, and Audrey blushed.

He looked around the house, the pictures of their kids on the walls through the years. "You two have made quite a life for yourselves."

"Which we owe all to you," Audrey smiled, and squeezed his hands again, and Duke smiled, lowering his head.

"What worries me about all this, now that you're your old self again, are you still going to be able to fix Troubles?" Nathan said.

"I—don't know. I guess so?" Duke offered helpfully. "I could try to fix you, Nathan."

That sounded awfully tempting, having him take away the numbness once and for all, not just for him, but his kids as well. Garland had told him he didn't know how Nathan had functioned like this for years as a police officer. "No wonder they made you Chief," he'd said.

But in the coming days of the return of the Troubles, being numb was often a plus, not a minus. He could take a hit with no problem—and now that he was 27 years older than the last time the Troubles had come, he'd need all the edge he could get.

"Let's hold off on fixing me for now," Nathan said. An idea struck him. "But I know who you _could_ fix—Dwight. His Trouble's dangerous."

"_He's_ still around?" Duke said, incredulous. "Yeah, his Trouble's dangerous-dangerous for _him_," Duke replied, getting the stink-eye from Nathan. "But, I could try to tinker with Sasquatch, see if I can take his Trouble."

"Why is it you take aether?" Audrey finally asked. "You used to do it through touching blood."

"I'm immune to Troubles now, Audrey, just like you were," Duke replied.

"How do you know that you're immune?" Nathan demanded.

Duke hesitated. He'd seen Nathan glaring at him for talking to Ellie. "Because you felt me that day in the office when we shook hands. I know you did, I saw you flinch when I touched you. Therefore, it stands to reason that your Trouble doesn't work around me, so I must be immune."

"I did feel you," Nathan admitted. "But why are you immune now?"

"Maybe it was from all the exposure to the aether, or something the Barn did, but for some reason, I am. Maybe that was part of my programming at Barn University, Trouble-Solving 101: Trouble Immunity and You."

"You don't remember anything of the Barn?" Audrey asked.

"Not once you and Nathan were gone. The next thing I really remember is waking up in your guesthouse, 27 years in the future." He smiled ruefully. "Now I know how Captain America felt." He looked down at himself. "I can't believe she made me an _attorney_," he cracked. "I get back to the Barn, we're going to talk."

"Yeah, it was a surprise to us too," Audrey laughed. This felt so much like old times, and she wished that just for a day, she and Nathan could be young again too.

Nathan's phone beeped. "Hello, Gar," he said, and his brow furrowed. "Well, if you gotta let him go, you gotta let him go. It's just that Du—Mr. Carter had some questions for him. Can't you hold him til we get down there? All right, fine. We'll see you tonight." He hung up. "Garland says that Halleck's attorney rolled in there practically the moment they brought him in. Had him out the door before Gar could even ask him a question. Said he was a big-city attorney too, that he could play as hard as Paul Carter could." Nathan looked at him. "Are you famous? I mean, other than in your own mind," he ribbed, getting a dirty look from Duke. "Is Paul Carter a well-known attorney in New York?"

"Not exceptionally. He's an estate lawyer, he settles people's properties in deaths, inheritances, divorces, that kind of thing. Works for a big firm in Manhattan, one of those lawyer-beehive kinds of places," Duke answered. It felt weird to talk about himself in third-person. _But I'm not Paul, I'm Duke. Or maybe we're each other_, Duke thought. _I wonder if he dreams about the Rouge too._

He squirmed around, eager to be rid of the suit and tie.

"Nate, do you have any clothes I could borrow? I feel like I'm ready to be laid out in a casket in this getup," Duke said, draping his suit jacket over his chair and loosening his tie.

"Maybe you'd better stay igcognito as Paul Carter for now," Audrey told him. "Did you get this attorney's name?"

"William Fulbright, Garland says," Nathan answered.

"Maybe we can look him up on the internet," Audrey suggested.

"Good idea," Duke put in, and sat down at the computer desk, his fingers flying over the flat surface of the keyboard. For being in cold storage for 27 years, he was surprisingly efficient on modern technology. He quickly annexed the law firm server of Dansbury, Goode, and Wexler going into the email of PRCARTER .

"You're pretty good at that," Nathan commented.

"Yeah? Well, this must the Paul part of me, because I don't have any idea what I'm doing," Duke said, and clicked on an email addressed to him marked WM. FULBRIGHT. It was a videomail, and he opened it up.

The screen was dark for a moment, and then the image of a blonde-haired man in a three-piece suit came up on the screen, and Audrey, Duke, and Nathan all gasped.

The man in the suit was William.

"He's _back_," Audrey croaked, her voice strained. "How?"

"Hello, Mr. _Carter_," William said cheerfully in the video. "I understand you want to see Steven Halleck. Well, if you want to talk to my client, then you are just going to have to come and talk to me first. I'm actually in Haven as well, so if you want to just drop by, that would be fine," he went on.

Audrey felt a cold chill run the length of her spine. William was _here_. Not just in this world. Here in _Haven_.

"I'm staying at Over The Way, nice little place," he went on, charming as the Prince of Darkness. "I'm sure we can reach some kind of understanding." He started to walk off, and then stopped, and looked back at the camera, still smiling.

If Nathan didn't know better, he'd _swear_ that William was looking right at them.

"And if you've made any new—acquaintances—here in Haven, bring them along," he went on. "I'd _love_ to catch up. Bye now." The screen went black.

"Think he means you two?" Duke said.

"I guarantee he means us two," Audrey said.

"Audrey, _no_," Nathan told her. "It's too much of a risk for you to see him."

"I agree," Duke said. "Let me go first. I'll put back on my Clark Kent disguise, and go talk to him. I'll let you know what he says."

"Duke, if he's here, God only knows what he's got planned," Nathan said. "I don't think he even knows Mara's dead, and if he does, this isn't going to be pretty. We need backup. We need Dwight."

"But Duke has to fix him first," Audrey told him. "Call him right now and get him over here."

Nathan phoned Dwight, who picked up on the second ring.

"Dwight—can you come to the house?" Nathan said. "I think we may have our Trouble-Fixer. He thinks he can fix your Trouble. It's worth a shot," he finished, wincing at his choice of phrase, earning a smack on the arm from Audrey.

"Funny, Nathan," Dwight said sardonically. "But I'm not bringing Kelly or the boys, in case this doesn't work. I don't want to upset her any more than she already is. She's scared to death."

Needless to say, Kelly Hendrickson had not taken the news that her teenaged sons had possibly become instant bullet magnets well.

He showed about twenty minutes later. Nathan could see the flak vest peeking out from under his jacket, worn over his shirt. Dwight wasn't sure his Trouble was even active yet—but with his Trouble, he couldn't be too careful.

Dwight gave Audrey a hug, and glanced at Duke.

"Who's your friend?" he asked.

"Oh, come on now, Sasquatch, it hasn't been _that_ long," Duke grinned at him. Dwight squinted at him.

"I know you, friend?" he asked.

"Duke," Audrey said. "He doesn't remember you."

"I used to think it would be nice if people could forget who I was," Duke sighed. "Now they have, and it sucks. Why don't they remember?"

"I don't know. Maybe because things are different now than they were 500 years ago. When you vanished with the Barn—you literally vanished, like you were never born," Audrey told him.

"I don't understand any of this, Audrey," Duke said.

"Join the club," she sighed. "Come on, let's see if you can help Dwight. And then we'll worry about William."

Outside, Nathan took out the small pistol he'd brought out with them.

"It'll only work if your Trouble's active," Nathan said. "At least, that's what our guy thinks."

Dwight took a deep breath. "Okay. Just one though, Nathan, eh?"

"Right." Nathan aimed at the tin can, and fired.

The shot veered to Nathan's left, nailing Dwight in his flak vest. Dwight grimaced in pain.

"Guess that answers that question," he grunted. "Okay," he exhaled. "Now let's see if this guy can fix me."

Duke and Audrey walked back into the living room, where Nathan and Dwight were chatting.

"Nathan says you can fix Troubles," Dwight said briskly.

"That's the story going around," Duke answered, trying to be cheerful, but he could see time had not had much of an effect on Dwight Hendrickson's stony disposition. In fact, it had made it stonier. At least when it came to himself, anyway.

Duke flapped his hands nervously. Suddenly he felt keyed up and nervous again, like he had at the Felcher house last night. He wondered if he should take a few moments to compose himself. But he figured that Nathan and Dwight probably wouldn't appreciate his stopping to meditate again, so he placed his hands in a prayer pose, and drew in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.

"Okay," he said. "Take off your vest. I have to be able to touch your chest, I have to make contact with your skin. At least, that's how I did it last night, right?" he looked at Audrey, who nodded.

"Yes," she answered.

"If it gets rid of my Trouble, you can touch me anywhere you want," Dwight growled, and Nathan sputtered in his coffee. "Within reason."

"The chest is fine," Duke got out. "Just open your shirt."

Dwight obliged, unfastening the Velcro straps, and let the vest slide to the floor beside him, and undid the top two buttons of his shirt.

Duke approached him slowly, and extended his hand.

"It might hurt some," he warned.

"Can't hurt worse than getting shot," Dwight replied.

"Fair enough," Duke said, and placed his hand on Dwight's chest.

Almost instantly, he felt the burn of the aether entering his body. Dwight grimaced, and Duke groaned his pain, but surprisingly, it wasn't so bad this time. It was almost as if it were _drawn_ to him, passing out of Dwight's body and into his own, searing through his veins before he finally felt the last of it leave Dwight, and Duke sagged to the floor, his hand coated with black, his body trembling. Dwight's amount of aether had been almost twice as much as Annie Felcher had. _Maybe the longer someone lives with a Trouble the more the aether increases_, he wondered.

"What the hell's happening to him?" Dwight asked. "Does he need a doctor or something?"

"He's absorbing the aether that was causing your Trouble," Audrey told him, kneeling down next to Duke, a hand on his back. He turned his head toward her, his pitch-black eyes gleaming. His heart was racing like he'd done ten lines of coke, but the feeling soon passed. Duke felt his heart resume its regular rhythm, and his eyes returned to normal. He sat up, smoothing his hair back.

"You had a ton of that stuff in you," he gasped.

"Did it work? Am I cured?" Dwight was asking.

"Only one way to find out," Nathan said, and held up the pistol.

Dwight strapped his vest back on, and he and Nathan went outside to the back fence, where Nathan once again took aim at the can.

"You ready, Dwight?" Nathan asked.

Dwight took a few deep breaths, bracing for the impact of the bullet. The small caliber helped, but it still stung like hell.

"Ready," he said.

Nathan took careful aim at the can, and pulled the trigger.

The can flew off the fencepost.

"Holy sh-" Dwight said, his face spreading into a grin. "He did it! He cured me! He _can_ cure Troubles!"

"Dwight, we have to keep it on the down low," Nathan urged. "We don't know how much Du-Paul-can take on. We don't need him stretched to the limit right off the bat."

"Why not? They'll put up a statue to him in the town square if he can cure Troubles," Dwight said, feeling like he was taking a breath for the first time. He'd never need to wear that vest again, except in the line of duty. Kelly would be thrilled.

"Why not because there's more," Nathan went on in a low voice. "Because William's back. _Mara's_ William. He's asked to see Paul."

"Crap," Dwight said, and then looked at Nathan quizically, and then back at the house, like he was piecing something together.

"Paul?" he said, puzzled. "Is-isn't that—_Crocker_?" he got out, incredulous. "That was _Duke_ that did that, right? Not some long-lost son of his named Paul or something?"

"You _remember_ him?" Nathan goggled.

"Well, Hell, Nathan, how could I forget Duke Crocker?" Dwight growled. "I couldn't forget him if I tried."

"Well, you did—everybody did, except me and Audrey," Nathan told him. "When he took your Trouble, maybe he took the block on your memories of him."

"Hmph—that's too bad on that one," Dwight cracked, and Nathan couldn't help but smile.

They went back to the house, where Duke and Audrey were waiting on the porch.

"It worked," Nathan called.

Dwight walked up to Duke, and stopped face-to-face with him.

"Crocker," he said.

"Sasquatch," Duke replied, and Dwight closed him in his big arms, crushing Duke's slender form against him. Duke, not knowing what else to do, patted his back.

"Thank you, Duke," Dwight said with not a small trace of emotion in his voice. "Whatever you did, thank you. Does this mean my sons are safe now too?"

"They should be," Audrey said. "That is, if his pulling aether from one member of a family cures all of them. It does seem to need to be the oldest member though."

She looked at Duke. "You said Dwight had a lot more aether than Annie did." and he nodded. "Yeah."

"You're not going to have happen what happened last time, are you?" Dwight questioned. "Because that was a _lot_ of aether you released that day."

"I know, I remember that, believe me," Duke replied. "I think that's why I'm here. I'm not here to just help solve Troubles. I can _end_ them, where Audrey couldn't, most times," he said, looking at his three friends. "And maybe, just maybe, end them for good for all of Haven."

Dwight looked Duke over. "You haven't aged a day."

"Life in the Barn will do that for you," Duke said. "I think it holds you suspended in time. How I looked in in 2014 is how I look in 2041." He squinted at Dwight. "Maybe you should try it."

"No thanks," Dwight said, thinking of Charlotte. He'd just rather not go down that road. Ever. Again.

He grinned at Duke. "First time I ever saw you in a suit outside of a courtroom. What are you made up for—Halloween?"

"Don't you start too," Duke grumbled. "But I'm going to call Over The Way, and see what William wants with Paul Carter."

Steven Halleck was pacing nervously around William's hotel room.

He'd met this guy down at the Rust Bucket, all charm and smile. _I know how you could be rid of your mother-in-law_, he'd said. _A little fishing line across the last two stairs and it's all smooth sailing from there_.

Halleck thought he would never have stooped to murder, but after William had suggested the plan, it was as though he couldn't get it out of his mind until he'd snuck into Doris' house and wound fishing line across the last two steps on the staircase, and Doris had fallen. After, he'd merely put the fishing line in his pocket and crept out the back door.

"Sit down, relax," William said, reading a copy of _The Haven Herald_. "This is just a little chat session. The _real_ fun comes later."

"I don't like this," Halleck said. "You told me when I triggered off the old lady's curse, to just do her in and that would set off Denise."

"And that's what happened, didn't it?" William told him. "The old lady's dead, your ex-wife's dead, and now your little girls are heirs to a five million dollar fortune." He looked sly. "Be terrible if something were to happen to them too."

"I love my girls," Halleck said.

"Of _course_ you do," William placated, not believing him for a minute. Steve Halleck would drop them over the side of a boat if he had half a chance, just to get his hands on all that lovely Felcher money. But he couldn't do that if Raymond Morton was ruled as Annie and Amy's legal guardian instead of him.

The phone rang, and William picked it up.

"William Fulbright speaking," he said politely.

"Mr. Fulbright, this is Paul Carter," Duke began.

"Ah, Mr. Carter, I've been expecting your call," William said cheerfully. "I understand you'd like a word with my client."

"Yes, I would, with you there, of course," Duke said, racking his brains for tidbits from old _Law & Order_ reruns. Paul Carter seemed to be beating a hasty retreat from his psyche since he'd become himself again. "I'd like to get his deposition."

Audrey, Nathan and Dwight were listening on the speakerphone in the living room. She didn't feel anything inside her for him—but that was no guarantee that something might not happen. She knew William was diabolically clever; but she knew from past experience that Duke wasn't exactly slow on the uptake either.

"Well, I sent his deposition to your office, didn't you get it?"

"No, I must have already left for Haven to clear up the matter with Doris Felcher's estate."

"Oh, yes. That was a terrible shame. Household accidents are so tragic," William commiserated. "Well, if you'd like to come over this evening, we can have a drink and talk things over. Strictly off-the-record, of course."

"Of course," Duke echoed. He hated William, for what he'd done to Audrey, turning her back into Mara, who'd done even worse to him.

"What time is good for you?"

"How about now?" William asked. "I have—things I have to see to in the morning," he went on. "So tonight would be good."

"Fine," Duke replied, keeping his voice even. "I will be there in about fifteen minutes."

"Wonderful," William answered, ever the cheerful hellspawn. "I look forward to seeing you-all." He hung up the phone.

"I'm gonna kill him," Nathan growled.

"What if there's still some tie between him and Audrey?" Dwight pointed out. "Let's see what he's up to first, if there is anything. If not, _then_ we'll kill him."

Duke felt nervous. William wasn't from this world—he could see through people's deceptions as though looking through a window. _But I'm not part of this world anymore either_. Duke didn't know for certain; but he felt fairly sure that whatever the outcome for Haven, good or bad, he probably wouldn't be around to be a part of it. Sooner or later, the Barn would come back for him; and Duke just had the feeling that went it left with him again, that this time, he would be gone forever.


	6. Dark Aether

Dark Aether

_Duke confronts William, who has a few tricks up his sleeve even Duke wasn't expecting._

Duke and Dwight pulled up in Over The Way's parking lot. They didn't see anyone but an elderly lady, waiting for a poodle to finish doing its business in the grass. Duke knew William was tricky, but he and Dwight were pretty sure that the old lady and the poodle were real, not aether henchmen.

"You want me to go with you?" Dwight asked.

"No," Duke said. "You know William, he's tricky with aether. I don't want to see you get re-Troubled."

"I don't either," Dwight answered. "But I'm gonna be listening," he said, indicating the little bug he'd put on Duke's clothes. "We all are. Don't let him get under your skin, because he's going to try his damndest to."

Duke exhaled. "I'll try."

He got out of the car, and Dwight stationed himself in an archway across from William's hotel room.

Duke straightened his tie, and knocked on the door.

William opened it at once, and glanced him over, delighted.

"You must be Mr. Carter," he enthused in his evil choirboy manner. "William Fulbright, but just call me William, please."

"Pleased to meet you," Duke replied. "Just Paul then."

"Well now, Paul, would you care for a drink?" William inquired politely. "Got bourbon, that okay?"

"Fine. I thought Mr. Halleck was supposed to be here to talk to me," Duke went on, keeping his breathing normal. God, he wanted to punch this guy's face in. But Nathan would be mad if Audrey suddenly got a broken nose out of the blue.

"You know, he had a personal emergency, he asked me to give his regrets," William said. "However, he did write out a statement all over again. Will that do?"

"That will be fine. I've scheduled a time for the case to be heard. Raymond feels it would be best if the girls remained with him. Your client's been something of a neglectful father."

"You know, Steven realized that, and to that end, he's gone to a rehabilitational facility. That was the reason I called it personal business," William went on. "He wants to be a better father for his girls, change his ways, now that their mother's gone. They need their father, their _real_ father," he continued. "Fathers play such an important part of a child's development. Don't you agree?"

A small nagging thought played at the back of Duke's mind that William knew damned good and well that he'd remembered who he was.

Dwight, who was listening, unholstered his pistol. He was giving Duke to the count of 50 to come out of there before he went in.

"But they do need a stable and loving home," Duke said. "So perhaps while Mr. Halleck is in rehab, the girls can stay with Raymond, who has so far provided a stable enviornment."

"I think he would be agreeable to that," William said, and extended his hand.

Duke willed himself to shake hands with him, and even managed a smile. "Thank you for your time," he said. "Thank you for the drink. I'd stay and chat, but I do have another engagement this evening."

"Well, thank _you_ for dropping by," William replied. "You've told me just about everything I've needed to know." He gave Duke a questioning glance. "I look forward to our time in court together."

"Mm," Duke answered. "I do too—William."

"C'mon, Crocker, get outta there," Dwight muttered from the archway. He glanced around, seeing no one, and started across the parking lot.

Duke shoveled the papers into his briefcase, and closed it.

"Nice meeting you," he told William, hoping to get out of there before he started swinging.

He'd just reached the door when he heard William.

"You know, you always were a bad liar, Crocker. You'd think for a small-time con-man you could do better."

Duke's hand froze on the knob.

"I'm sorry?" he got out. "Did you say something?"

"Oh, come on, _Duke_," William said, his mask of polite pretense dropped. "I know it's you. What'd you do, let 'Audrey' sucker you into taking her place in the Barn?" he laughed.

Duke turned around, his eyes narrowed.

"She didn't talk me into anything," he growled. "I volunteered."

"The Barn wouldn't have just accepted you," William answered, gauging his answer. "That isn't how it works. Thought you knew that from the last time you went in."

"I'm special," Duke sneered.

"Uh-huh," came the skeptical reply.

William looked him up and down. "So this is the best Charlotte could come up with," he grinned. "A petty crook in a three-piece suit and a botched memory job. Not that crooks don't wear three-piece suits, but this just isn't _you_, Crocker, this is a bad fit! I would've at least made you-a-a stock car driver or a musician or something, not a _lawyer_," William gestured at him, chuckling. "I knew you'd already remembered who you were the minute you walked in here. _I_ helped with that," he went on, with almost maniacal glee. "I'm sure you remember my little helpers from before? They're the ones that paid you a visit at the harbor. I _wanted_ you to remember your original self."

"Why?"

"Because it's weakened your link to the Barn," William said, getting off the bed and coming over to him. "I bet it's getting harder and harder to recall those memories of Attorney Boy, isn't it? Go on, be honest. That's gonna bring Mommy running, her latest science project's forgotten his lines."

Duke didn't answer him, but William was right. Paul Carter seemed a mostly-forgotten dream.

"I stripped you down, right to the primer," William taunted. "The more of those memories you lose, the more of your Trouble-helper super power goes away." He smirked. "Just like I did with Audrey."

"You leave Audrey alone," Duke warned.

"Still in love with Audrey," William cooed. "What must that pretty little girlfriend of yours say about that? Or did she say about that, since I assume she didn't go into the Barn with you."

"Jennifer's dead," Duke uttered. "She died that day at the lighthouse."

"Awww," William mocked. His mouth curled into a tight smile. "That's too bad—she was kinda cute. For a half-breed."

"It's okay, though," Duke retorted, giving his own sneer. "Mara's dead too, so we're even."

"Mara is _not_ dead," William said, slamming Duke back against the wall. "She's just buried back inside of Audrey."

"She's _dead_-I separated her and Audrey, but Audrey got sick. Charlotte rejoined them—and Audrey won out over your psycho girlfriend," Duke said. "I _know_ she's dead—I unleashed all those Troubles when she died because she'd rigged me to blow if she did."

"And just when did she do that?" William asked, curious. "C'mon, you gotta give Mara credit, that's a hell of a job, being able to put that much aether into someone without them noticing it's happening to them."

"Probably when we were having sex," Duke said, going in for the kill shot. "That's when Mara did her best work—on her back." Duke decided to twist the knife once more. "She was a regular gymnast."

William's face became a mask of rage, because he realized that Duke was telling the truth.

He raised his hand. Duke could see his blackened palm, knowing he'd activated a massive Trouble, and he slammed it into Duke's chest.

"Let's see how you like this one!" William barked.

Duke sucked in his breath as it hit, feeling it soak in, his eyes turning black before returning to normal.

William stared at him, mouth agape for a moment and then regained his composure.

"Well, we _are_ a special little flower after all, aren't we?" he mused, still clutching Duke by his throat. "You are immune to Troubles."

"Yeah—just like you," Duke retorted.

"Nah. No, you're _not_ like me," William said, relinquishing his hold on Duke's neck. "You're a cheap designer knockoff and a I'm haute couture original."

He brought his face right to Duke's. "You think _you're_ going to be the one to save Haven?" William laughed. "You might be immune, Crocker, but you're _nothing_ like me," he raged, shoving Duke, who pushed back. "So when I get Mara back," William went on, "and I _will_ get Mara back, the first thing we're going to do is strip you of your immunity and put an end to Charlotte and her magic cow barn, for good. Then we're gonna do in Nosy Parker and her husband. But, don't worry, we won't kill you when we take your immunity," William promised. "I want you to live long enough to see the destruction of your precious Haven—and every last living soul in it," he finished, letting go of Duke. "Haven will be nothing but scorched earth by the time we're through. That's a promise."

"Going to do your worst, eh?" Duke growled. The aether William had hit him with was making his chest hurt.

"Oh, I _am_, believe me," William told him, pouring himself another drink. "You see, Haven's just about to start a civil war. The Troubled have spent centuries hiding in the shadows from all the normals," he said. "They've all decided that they're not going to do that anymore. So _The Haven Herald_ is going to issue a statement tomorrow morning that if you're not Troubled, then you better get the hell out of Haven within 24 hours. _That's_ not going to sit well with the normal crowd."

"Ellie wouldn't run a story like that," Duke retorted.

"Oh yes, she would. If she wants her brother and sister to stay alive, she would."

Duke drew in a sharp breath, and William caught it. "Oh, dear, Mommy and Daddy didn't think about the kiddies, did they?" he grinned. "That's all right—_I_ did."

"Don't you hurt them," Duke warned.

"They're free to go once the Herald hits the streets," William said. "They don't even _know_ they're being held hostage. Sleeping like babies. That Morpheus Trouble Hailey Crestmore's got is powerful stuff. They'll be out for 24 hours, and that was with just a fingertip touch. Imagine what could happen to them if she put _both_ hands on them—why, they might never wake up again. I made sure Ellie Wuornos knew that when I talked to her this afternoon. _That's_ how I know she's gonna run that story."

"Nearly everyone in Haven is Troubled," Duke said, his body tense. "What good would a war do?"

"There's enough of them in Haven that keep fooling themselves that they're 'normal' because their Trouble doesn't kill 20 people at a time," William said. "But it's the ones that are super and multi-Troubled that are tired of hiding."

He grinned. "I wish I could've seen you when you blew. It must have been glorious." He looked at Duke, still smiling. "Mara would have been so proud."

Duke wondered if he had the strength to just go ahead and kill William now. But he still didn't know if he and Audrey were tied.

"It wasn't," Duke answered.

"And I even rigged up a little surprise for you."

"Like what?"

"Oh, that would spoil the surprise if I told you," William pouted. "You'll just have to wait and see till tomorrow."

The door burst open, and there was Dwight, pointing a pistol right at William's head.

"Party's over," he growled.

"_A gun_!" William said, enthused. "Why, Chief Hendrickson! No bow and arrow? No Taser? Has the big man gotten over his wittle problem?"

"Wanna find out?" Dwight said. "We're leaving."

"By all means, leave," William waved at them. "And shut the door when you go."

Dwight pushed Duke out in front of him, and they made a break for the car.

"This is bad, Duke. Very bad," Dwight was saying as they drove. "Call Nathan Wuornos," he told the car.

"Dialing Nathan Wuornos," the car replied.

"Dwight, Duke!" Nathan practically screamed at them. "Garland and Charlotte are missing!"

"Yeah, I know, William has them," Duke answered.

"I heard, he's holding them for hostage so Ellie will run that newspaper story!"

"Nathan, she can't run that. It's as good as an act of war in this town if Ellie runs that story," Dwight reasoned with him. "The situation has always been tense between Troubled and Non-Troubled in Haven, but that'll blow things sky-high."

"_I don't care_!" Nathan raged. "It's my children in this! It's my-" he trailed off, and Duke's heart ached to know it was because Nathan was crying, and Dwight looked sympathetic to Nathan's plight.

"I know, Nathan, I'm sorry," Dwight said sadly. "We're gonna do our best to get 'em back."

"Do you still have any connection with the Guard?" Duke asked.

"I can go by and try to talk to them, ask them to keep everyone quieted down, but you know that the city council is going to take this as a threat." Dwight looked grim. "Duke, if you're able to do something, now would be a good time to do it."

"I'm doing the best I can here, Dwight," Duke said.

"How much more aether can you take?"

"I don't know," Duke replied. The aether that William had hit him with had left him with a peculiar feeling in his chest.

"What's the matter?" Dwight asked.

"William hit me with aether," Duke grunted.

"Thought you could take that stuff."

"I can, from normal people. William's not normal people. I think he did something to it," Duke said. The peculiar feeling of discomfort was giving way to a very familiar feeling of pain—the same he'd had when, when Audrey had re-Troubled him, she'd awakened every Trouble the Crocker line had extinguished.

"I think he Troubled me," Duke got out.

"What?" Audrey cried over the intercom. "I thought you couldn't be affected by the Troubles anymore!"

"I didn't either," Duke grimaced. This aether felt different. When he absorbed most Troubles, it burned, a little like getting a penicillin shot. But this—this felt as heavy as mercury in his veins.

Duke's cell phone rang. _WILLIAM, _the caller ID read.

"What?" Duke barked.

"Hi again," William trilled. "Oh, okay, I wasn't gonna tell you till tomorrow, but hell, I can't stand the suspense," he giggled.

"What the hell are you talking about, you freaking psycho?" Duke said.

"I'm willing to bet that you're not feeling too hot right now, are you, Duke?"

"What did you do?" Duke demanded.

"You see, while I was out there in the Void which you lot so graciously kicked me into, I made a discovery, well, I didn't _make_ it, I just found it. I call it dark aether," he went on. "While all aether is black and kind of nasty, this stuff-" he trailed off. "Well, this is kind of a nuclear version of aether. You're right, you know. The longer a person has a Trouble, the greater the aether increases. This dark aether, that's now roaming around inside of you, is feeding on that aether that you already took from Dwight and the Felchers. When it runs out, it's going to want more. It affects non-humans the same as it affects humans. Basically, it's like your old Trouble on steroids. It's going to make you want more and more and more, because it wants more and more, because it's growing, and Baby needs to be fed to grow," he continued. "So by the time my little war kicks off tomorrow, you're going to be chock-full of some extremely unstable stuff." he finished. "Even I don't know what's gonna happen. But it's sure gonna be interesting to find out. Bye now."

Dwight and Duke looked at each other, aghast.

"What the hell, you let him get close enough to you to do something?" Nathan asked on the phone.

"I didn't think he could _do_ anything to me," Duke protested.

"Duke, you're not actually _from_ the other side! Charlotte just—did something to you so that the Barn would fix you," Nathan argued.

"Now what?" Dwight said. He looked at Duke. "Think William's telling the truth?"

"I know he is," Duke grimaced, feeling that sensation he'd felt when William had told him that he now carried all the curses the Crockers had killed through the centuries in his body. And now this stuff that was inside him wanted more.

"Take me to the Herald," Duke said, the germ of an idea growing in his mind. "I want to talk to Ellie about something."

"You're the boss," Dwight said, turning the wheel.

"What are you going to do, Duke?" Audrey asked on the car's phone system.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out," he sighed.


	7. How To Build A Better Crocker

_How To Build A Better Crocker_

_William reveals his little surprise_

Ellie was trying to finish typing in the story for tomorrow's Herald. She was having difficulty seeing the words through the veil of tears that were coursing down her cheeks.

_Your mother and I are old, old friends,_ the man had said. _So you tell her to be at our place by sundown tomorrow, or she and Nathan will only have to buy you presents this Christmas._

He'd shown her the picture on his phone, of Garland and Charlotte, stretched out unconscious on a bed, with two creepy-looking men standing guard over them. _Remember what I said—sundown tomorrow,_ he told her, and touched her cheek. _My little present to Haven should be just about ready by then._

The bell jingled, and she looked up in fear. She let out a sob of relief when Dwight and Duke came in.

"Hey, kiddo, you okay?" Dwight asked, holding her close.

"Yes," she sobbed. "Oh, Uncle Dwight-"

"We know, we know," he replied. "Ellie, you can't run that story tomorrow. People will die if you do."

"Gar and Charlie will die if I don't," Ellie sniffled. "Paul, what can we do?"

"I-I don't know," Duke said, forgetting for the moment that she still thought of him as Paul Carter, and now was not the time to try to explain.

The bell jingled again, and two men came in. Duke could see the Guard tattoo on one of the men's arm.

"Thank you for your help," Dwight began, but trailed off.

"You're not wearing your vest," one of the men said. "Rumor has it that you were cured of your Trouble."

Duke felt that uneasiness again inside him, the same as he had before touching Annie and Dwight.

One of the men looked at Duke.

"Are you the one that took his Trouble?" he asked. "Then take mine!"

"Hold it, nobody's getting cured right now," Dwight broke in.

Duke could feel the burn in his chest. He realized that what he felt was the aether in these men's bodies, and that it was the dark aether craving it.

"No," he heard himself saying. "I can fix them."

"Duke, our Troubles are the best weapons we have against a war!" Dwight proteted.

"Speak for yourself! It ain't your kids having to live with this curse anymore!" the man said, coming closer to Duke. "Cure me!"

A tussle broke out, and it was drawing curious onlookers.

"He can cure Troubles!" one of the other men called out, and people rushed the Herald, pushing and shoving one another. Fights began to break out, and Dwight grabbed hold of Duke.

"Duke, let's go!" Dwight told him.

Duke touched the first man, feeling the aether enter his body.

The crowd began to rush into the Herald, hands grabbing and pulling at him, and Dwight and Ellie fought back, pulling Duke with them through the back door and out into a waiting SUV.

"Get us outta here!" Dwight yelled at the guy.

"Paul—Paul! God, what's happening to him?" Ellie cried, seeing Duke's black eyes.

"It's a long story honey, and I'll tell it to you, but right now, we gotta get him someplace safe," Dwight said.

"I can fix them," Duke groaned. The dark aether was _screaming_ in his chest.

"What's he yelling about?" the driver said.

"Never mind," Dwight ordered. He had to find a safe place to stash Duke till they could get the situation under control in Haven. Now that the word was out about Duke's ability to cure the Troubles, there wouldn't be a stone left unturned hunting for him.

He pulled his phone out. "Nathan, get Audrey and get outta there," he said. "Word's out about Duke. It won't take people long to put two and two together and figure out he's been staying with you." He surveyed the road behind them. They'd ditched the chasing cars, and now they were alone on the two-lane stretch of road.

"Ellie-" Nathan said.

"I'm here, Daddy," Ellie told him.

"She's safe, Nathan. We've got Duke and we're going out to that old canning factory. He should be safe there for now, till we can find William," Dwight told him. "We should be there in about an hour."

"We'll meet you."

"Make sure you're not followed. They tried to rip him to shreds back there trying to get him to save them," Dwight finished, and ended the call.

Ellie was still trying to process everything that was happening.

Duke's eyes had returned to normal, and he closed them.

"Skip the factory," he mumbled.

"What?" Dwight said.

"Find a boat," Duke told him. "I want to go to Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck."

"Duke, why the hell do you want to go out there?" Dwight said.

"Have to," Duke mumbled, and the world faded out.

Ellie looked at the unconscious form cradled in her arms, and she _remembered_. Remembered the stories that her mother and father would tell her of a man named Duke Crocker, and the sketch that her mother kept in the china cabinet. _He went away_, her mother always said. _But he'll come back someday._

"Dwight—is-is this—Duke _Crocker_?" Ellie said. "The one Mom and Dad always told us about?"

Dwight hesitated for a moment, and then: "Yes, El. That's him. That's Duke."

"So where's he _been_ all this time?" she questioned. "And why does he look the same as he does in that sketch? He's Dad age, right? Why does he look so young?"

Another silence. "I think your Mom and Dad had best tell you all that stuff, honey, because honestly, I wouldn't know where to begin."

"The Troubles _are_ real," she breathed.

"The Troubles are very real, Eleanor," Dwight told her. "And believe it or not, that is the key to solving them," he finished, nodding at Duke.

William watched out of his hotel room at the dissension breaking out in the streets of Haven. Truckloads of 'concerned citizens' in pickups with shotguns.

"Fan out, we'll find him," he heard one cry, and William clapped his hands together with glee.

"The party's getting started," he said cheerfully.

Sometime later, Duke awoke on a makeshift cot, to find Ellie staring at him.

"Hey," he smiled, but she didn't return it.

"You lied," she accused.

Duke looked puzzled, and then comprehended. "Ellie—I didn't lie about who I was. I'm Paul Carter—and I'm not," he said.

"You're Duke Crocker," Ellie uttered.

"Yes, I am. That is who I _really_ am," Duke answered.

"Ellie, he didn't lie to you," Audrey spoke from the doorway. "He truly believed that he was Paul Carter. That's how it always is when we come back. Whether the name or the clothes or the hair are different, we are still the person we are underneath."

"Come back from where?"

"We don't know," Duke said. "Somewhere between this world and the next, is the best I can tell you."

"So you're an alien or something?" Ellie questioned.

Duke grinned. "No, not exactly. I'm from Haven, the same as you, just a different time." He looked at Audrey and Nathan. "We worked together to solve the Troubles the last time they were here."

"How did you solve them?"

"He took my place," Audrey smiled, kneeling down alongside Duke's cot. "He went away in my place so that your dad and I could be together."

"Well, why did _you_ go away? I don't understand any of this stuff," Ellie cried.

Dwight's phone chirped. "Yah?" he answered, and then his shoulders sagged with relief. "Thank God. Get 'em somewhere safe, preferably out of Haven," he directed, and hung up.

"That was Tad—they got Charlie and Garland, they're safe," he informed Nathan and Audrey.

"Oh, thank God," Audrey exhaled. "How did they get them away from William?"

"He was gone when they stormed the hotel, unfortunately," Dwight replied. "Found the kids in the next room asleep. William made Hailey use her Trouble on them. They should come around in the next few hours, I hope."

The name William made Ellie jump. "He told me something," she said. "He's about the scariest guy I've ever met in my life."

"I'm just glad he didn't hurt you, Angel Bear," Nathan told his daughter.

"He gave me a message to give to Mom," Ellie said. "He said for her to be at their place tomorrow by sunset, or that he was gonna kill Charlie and Gar."

"Well, he's probably not going to do that now," Dwight said. He swore at himself. "The Guard saw I wasn't wearing my vest anymore, they knew I'd been cured, and they started grabbing at Duke."

"That _is_ why I'm here, to help the Troubled, Dwight," Duke said.

"You can't help 'em if you're dead, and that mob woulda pulled you to pieces," Dwight argued. "People are desperate to be rid of their Troubles after the last time."

"Don't remind me," Duke grumbled. The ache in his chest had subsided somewhat, but it wasn't going to be long before the cravings would hit again.

"Company coming," Toby, the man who had driven them there called. "One lone car."

Nathan, Audrey, and Dwight all pulled pistols and proceeded slowly toward the door.

"Stay here with Duke," Audrey ordered her daughter.

Ellie just sat there, stunned and silent, and Duke reached out and took her hand in his. She closed her eyes, feeling its warmth, the texture of his skin beneath her fingers. She opened her eyes, and he was looking at her.

"If it will make you feel better, I'm scared too," he said softly. "I want to explain all this to you, but it would take forever, and half of it, I don't understand myself."

The car rolled to a stop outside the factory, and shut off its lights. The driver emerged, raising her hands.

"I'm not armed," Charlotte called. "I'm just here for Duke." She looked at Audrey. "Hello, Audrey."

"Hi Mom," Audrey answered.

Charlotte entered the factory, and headed over to Duke.

"Paul?" she said.

"Fraid not," Duke answered. The hurt was starting again, and now it was insistent. He was afraid he would begin to start attacking people for the aether, just as his brother Wade had lost himself to the high of Troubled blood, and many Crockers before him.

"Can you get this dark aether out of me if I went back in the Barn?" Duke asked her.

Charlotte shook her head. "I can't. It'll kill you if I try to."

"More good news," Duke said cheerily, but his heart wasn't in it. "If you want to fire me as Trouble-Solver, please feel free to do so at any time," he said to Charlotte.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, Duke," she replied sadly.

"Yeah, I thought not," he answered vacantly.

"We'll find a way," Audrey told him. "We always have."

"We weren't fighting this stuff before," Duke told her. "This is different, Audrey. This isn't regular aether, it's—something else altogether." He stopped, thinking, and then it dawned on him.

"Then what is it?" Nathan asked.

"It's _alive_," Duke said.

"That's impossible," Audrey protested.

"William said he discovered it in the void. Who the hell knows what's out there?" Duke told them. "But—I can't prove it, I don't know how I know, but it's alive."

A sudden gunshot behind them, and Toby dropped.

William was standing in the factory door behind them.

"The one and only correct answer, tell him what he's won, Johnny!" William greeted."Yes, it's alive, and it's hungry. Five hundred years' worth of Troubles in this town, this place is a veritable ocean of aether, and Duke's got a great white shark in his body, just waiting for the feeding frenzy."

"William," Audrey gasped.

"Hi honey," he greeted, then frowned. "Lookin' a little over the hill there, dear. Don't worry, I'll fix you right up."

"You won't fix anything," Nathan growled, firing the pistol at him, but William merely dodged out of the path of the bullet, smacking Dwight on the arm.

Duke saw the black handprint on Dwight's forearm.

"Dwight, get down!" he yelled, but the bullet veered away from William and headed straight for Dwight. The shot struck him in the leg, and Dwight went down, grunting.

"Damn, I'm good," William grinned. "A re-Trouble on the run from a bullet."

Nathan reached for his Taser, but William was like quicksilver and pulled Audrey against him.

"No sense in protesting, my love," he told her. "Let me take you away from all this drudgery."

"_Leave my mom alone_!" Ellie screamed, swinging at him.

Charlotte swung at him, but William backhanded her, knocking her to the ground.

"That's for the last 500 years," he told her. "Mara and I are going to be together, period."

"Mara is dead," Charlotte got out, her lip bloodied. "Your spark is gone," she told him. "She doesn't exist anymore."

William touched Audrey. There was no spark of electricity when he touched her face, and he touched her again, Audrey squirming in his grasp, and then he turned his head and stared at Charlotte.

"You killed your own child," he said in a still voice. "You stuck her in that damned Barn and wiped her memory over and over and over again till there was nothing left of her!" he screamed.

"No, _you_ killed her," Charlotte said, gathering herself up. "Poisoning her mind with promises that the aether would bring her father back by Troubling innocent people! You're as much to blame as I am, William."

For a moment, tears simmered in William's eyes as he realized that Mara was really, truly gone. He'd felt no spark as he touched Audrey as he had before, and he let her go, Nathan clutching her close.

"Well, then, I guess there's nothing left here for me to do then," he said. "So, Charlotte, if you'd be so good as to open a thinny, I'll be on my merry way."

"I don't think so," she snapped.

"Oh, I _do_ think so," William told her. "You see, I don't want to be around when Mr. Crocker there blows his top, so to speak," he grinned at Duke, who looked stricken. "You won't be able to cure these Troubles, not even in a million years of coming back. So, before sunset tomorrow, I want that thinny on King's Point opened, and I _might_ be able to do something about that aether that's burning a hole in your gut before then. If not—well, it's been nice knowing you, because you won't live to tell about it."

"It's—destructive?" Audrey gasped.

William grinned at her. "You'll be nothing but a messy spot if you're within about fifty miles of him when he goes off. Take care,"

he called, and was out the door.

Duke closed his eyes, still feeling the burning in his chest, and he felt Ellie hold his hand in hers.

_Another time, another place, kiddo,_ he thought. _But I can do this. I got this. _

He lifted his head. "I still need to get out to Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck," he said.

"Why do you have to go there?" Charlotte asked. "The Barn isn't there, it's somewhere else."

"I have to go there, because this," he gestured at his body, "wants to go there. So let's go—please."


	8. This Island Haven

_This Island Haven_

"Duke." Nathan's voice, prodding him to consciousness. "Duke, get up. We gotta go."

"Go away, Nate," Duke grumbled, turning over, momentarily forgetting he was 27 years into the future from the last time Nate had come by to roust him out of bed on the _Cape Rouge_.

"Duke, c'mon, it's getting light out," Nathan told him.

Duke opened bleary eyes to see Nathan standing over him, and he remembered.

"C'mon—Dwight's got us a boat so we can get out to Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck," Nathan told him.

Duke sat up. Jesus God, this thing was screaming for the aether in Nate, wanting him to take it. He fought it down, and was rewarded with a fresh round of agony for his trouble.

"Nathan get away from me, please," Duke groaned. "This thing wants your aether."

"Is it a lot—in me?" Nathan asked, looking down at himself as if he could see it.

"Oh yeah," Duke whimpered. "You've been through the Troubles what, three times now? You're like a 24-ounce Porterhouse to this thing. Send me Sasquatch over here-he might be New York Strip, but I can fix him again and maybe get this thing to quiet down long enough to get out there at the same time."

"How do you know what it wants?" Nathan questioned. "Are you sure this thing hasn't taken control of your mind?"

"It's not like that," Duke said. "But I'm afraid if I don't give what it wants, it will come out and take it. I'd prefer it not to do that while I'm still wrapped around it. Now please, Nate, back away," he finished, getting to his feet.

Nathan nodded and ducked out, Ellie coming in behind him.

"What's so important about this island?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out when we get there," Duke grimaced. It wanted Ellie's aether as well, but not nearly as much as Nathan's, as hers was so slight.

"White Castle burger," Duke said.

"What?" Ellie blurted.

"Nothing. Never mind," Duke sighed.

Dwight limped into the room next.

"I gotcha some clothes," he said, tossing a bag at his feet. "Think yours are kinda shot."

It was the first time Duke had noticed that his suit was badly torn, his shirt missing half its buttons, and he was suddenly glad that Dwight and Ellie had gotten him out of the Herald's office before it had been too late.

"Thanks," he told Dwight. "For rescuing me back there."

"Yeah. Cure this Trouble again, and we're even," Dwight replied.

A short while later, they were back in the SUV, headed to Brimmer's Cove, where the boat was waiting.

Duke glanced back toward Haven. He could see the smoke from several fires that were burning in town, and he hoped that one of them wasn't Nathan and Audrey's house.

Ellie sat next to him in the SUV, Audrey on the other side.

"What are we going to do?" Audrey asked. "For the first time, I feel so helpless in the face of all this. And it's all my fault."

"It is _not_ your fault," Duke said. "Nate and I never blamed you for one second for all of this."

Charlotte too, rode with them, she and Dwight doing their best to avoid one another's gaze in the rearview.

"So—who are you?" Ellie asked Charlotte.

"I'm your grandmother," Charlotte replied. "After a fashion."

"Yeah, right," Ellie laughed.

"No, she is," Audrey replied. "Ellie, this is your Grandmother Charlotte. Mom, this is Eleanor. Your other granddaughter is named Charlotte also. And Garland, our son."

"Hello," Charlotte smiled at her, and touched her graddaughter's cheek. "It's complicated," she told Ellie, seeing her dumbfounded expression.

"I guess," Ellie replied. This day was getting nuttier by the second.

"How did you know where we were?" Audrey asked her mother.

For answer, Charlotte picked up what had been Paul Carter's pen, and handed it to her daughter.

Audrey could see the intricate carving on it, and realized that it was the Guard maze inscribed into the metal.

"His key," she murmured. Just as the vampire novel had been hers and Jennifer's, Duke's was a pen. _Like Duke Crocker would have walked around with a trashy vampire novel on him_, she smiled. _But a nice pen, any man would have carried on him._

"Hey, that's my pen," Duke said, grabbing it from her, and stuck in his shirt pocket.

"That's Paul Carter's pen," Audrey half-smiled.

"I know him—kinda. I'll see he gets it back," Dude replied.

Audrey felt the sting of tears at the back of her throat. She had missed him so much these last years, it had been a miracle that Duke's personality had resurfaced—and unfortunately, she was afraid that it was going to end up costing him his life.

Thankfully, they didn't encounter anyone on the road, and Dwight pulled the SUV off into the brush when they arrived at Brimmer's Cove.

The thing in his body was awake again, Duke noted. But it wasn't screaming to be fed, instead, he could feel the pull toward that scrubby little island as he looked out over the water, to where Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck was a far-off speck.

_Why, _he questioned mentally, and suddenly saw a vision of an ancient ceremony taking place, of a large maze carved into the ground, a light coming from the center of it, and suddenly there was a torrent of aether coming through.

He began to panic at first, until he realized that thing was showing him a past event. It faded, and Duke jerked himself awake.

_Show me more!_ he thought, but the thing instead screamed for aether.

"Duke!" Dwight yelled at him, snapping him out of his trance. "What the hell, I've been talking to you for the last five minutes! Where do we need to land?"

"I just had a vision," he told the boatload of people. "Land on the northern side of the island."

"Nothin' over there but an old Micmaq sweat lodge," Dwight said.

"It was a ritual site before," Duke answered.

"How do you know that?" Charlotte asked.

"It showed me," Duke replied. "I didn't understand what it was originally, but I think I know now."

"What did you see?" Audrey questioned.

"I think I saw the beginning of the Troubles," Duke replied. "That Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck is where they began—and hopefully, that's where they're going to end."

"Or be Ground Zero for more," Dwight said grimly.

They arrived at Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck, and they trudged through the woods to a large clearing in a circle of tall trees.

Over in the midst of them, a small dome-shaped building could be seen, just outside of a large clearing cluttered with leaves and forest debris.

"We need to clear all this," Duke instructed, bending down and beginning to scrape at the leaves. It was a thick layer, but beneath it was sandstone, and he could see the carving in the rock.

"Come on, clear this off," he said, and everyone set to work, piling branches up for a bonfire, clearing away leaves and debris with their hands.

Duke worked like a man possessed, and in some ways, he was.

"It's the Guard carving," Audrey said, astonished, as more of the design came into view.

"Lifted from the tribes around here," Dwight puffed as he threw a substantial limb onto the brush pile. "Never knew this was here, though. How did you know?" he questioned Duke.

"A little aether monster told me," Duke gasped. He was surprised the thing had gone quiet, as though it knew Duke needed his strength to work.

There was a rustling noise, and Nathan put his hand up.

"Quiet," he said, and the group grew still. He, Audrey, and Dwight all drew pistols, listening for more sounds.

Duke instead, turned toward the edge of the trees, where he saw an elderly Micmaq man, his snow-white hair and lined weathered face indicating he'd been around a very long time. There appeared to be two other Micmaq men with him.

Dwight holstered his pistol.

"That's Henry Prosper—he's the local tribe's shaman," he said. "The other two are his grandsons. Henry, what brings you out here?"

Henry ignored Dwight's questions, and stepped over the ring of stones that surrounded the maze carved into the ground. He inspected the carving, and then approached Duke, putting his hand on his chest.

"_Ma'jasit,"_ he said.

Duke nodded. _"Ma'jasit."_

_ "_What did you say?" Ellie spoke.

"It means leave," Charlotte translated.

"How did you know that?" Nathan asked, and Charlotte glanced over her shoulder at him.

"When you've been around 1100 years, you pick up a few things," she told him. She came to Henry, and the two chatted for a few moments, and then Henry turned back to them.

"Finish clearing the land," he said, gesturing with his hands.

"We will begin the ceremony at sunset. There will be food shortly, but you, come with me," he told Duke, leading him toward the sweat lodge.

"Where's he going?" Nathan asked, watching Duke disappear through the trees with the elderly Micmaq.

"I'm not sure," Audrey murmured.

"He's taking Duke on his spirit walk," Charlotte said. "Henry said he had a vision that he was coming. Duke has to prepare himself for the coming battle."

"What battle?" Dwight asked, the first words he'd spoken to Charlotte in 27 years.

"The battle to end the Troubles—once and for all. To put the aether back on the other side where it belongs."

She looked around them. "This is sacred land for the Micmaq. This," she gestured at the ground, "is another portal, like the one you opened when you put William back on the other side."

"Like the one under the lighthouse," Dwight said.

"This is the other one," Charlotte replied. "The one you _should_ have used, and not released what you released."

"Nobody ever tells anyone anything important like that in Haven, you just kind of have to accidentally come across it," Nathan protested. "That's what drove me so nuts about Vince and Dave."

"You didn't find their papers after they died?"

"The crafty old badgers hired somebody to torch their places after Vince died," Nathan grumbled. "So, no, nobody told us anything, and we're all as much in the dark as ever."

It was stiflingly hot in the sweat lodge.

Duke peeled off his clothes, and then entered into it. He'd grown up on the periphery of the Micmaq village, in and out, sometimes staying with them when he was a small boy, and Simon would be "away." Henry was about the closest thing he'd ever had to a grandfather, and Duke would come by the village on occasion to see him in the past, before he'd gone into the Barn. But he hadn't thought Henry would still be alive after all this time.

"It's good to see you again, Papa Beaver," Duke told him, as Henry sat down opposite him, sitting down a small bowl in his hands, and touched his forehead against Duke's, grasping his hands warmly.

"And good to see you," Henry smiled slightly, and then sobered. "It has been many years."

"I was-away-Papa Beaver," Duke replied. "I came back. Not just to fight the Troubles, but to end them."

Henry nodded, and then spoke. "When you were first cursed, you came to see me, do you remember?"

"I remember," Duke answered. "I told you I didn't want to be like the men in my family, killing people to end their curses. I've tried to do what was right, and it has ended up costing me more than I had ever dreamed it would."

"And that is why you will be the one to succeed in your line," Henry told him. "Because you do what is right, not what men tell you to do. You paid a price that others could not."

"I sacrified my humanity for the Troubles," Duke said softly.

Henry touched Duke's chest, and surprisingly, the dark aether responded, but not in a painful way.

"It knows this too," he said to Duke, and picked up the bowl he'd carried in with him.

"You will see what it sees," he said to Duke, offering him the bowl. "There is great evil coming," he went on. "All of us are shut off from the outside world. No help to come."

"What do you mean?" Duke asked.

"No one can leave Haven again," Henry answered. "Phones, computers, they do not work. We are alone in the darkness."

"Just like last time," Duke said. W_illiam's made Haven become an island in the dark._ He knew if he were to go and look for Haven on a map, that Haven would be nowhere to be found on it, and should an outsider be driving through, only dense woods would be seen

Henry looked at Duke. He'd always known this day would come—ever since he'd laid that baby boy in Simon Crocker's arms, his tiny body still wet from the womb—that it would come. He just hadn't thought he'd have lived long enough to see it.

Duke drank the contents of the bowl, and almost immediately began to feel light-headed.

Henry rose and exited the lodge, and pulling the heavy blankets down over the door, left without saying another word.

By late afternoon, the maze had been cleared, and Ellie was walking it, tracing the lines with her steps.

"What does this image mean?" she asked Henry.

"They are the four guardians, two _Jinm_," he pointed to the male figures, and two _'Epit," _indicating the female figures. "They guard the doorway between worlds."

"Kinda been laying down on the job then, haven't they?" William spoke. "Ah-uh, no, no, easy does it," he went on as Nathan and Dwight made a reach for their pistols. "Just throw those right over here," he pointed at his feet. "You too, _ladies_," he growled at Charlotte and Audrey. "Where's Duke?"

"He's gone back into the Barn," Charlotte lied.

"Yeah, nice try," William said. "Go find him," he told one of his henchman, who set off through the woods. "And then we're gonna get this little show on the road."


	9. Fail Safe

_Fail Safe_

_The end of the Troubles is in sight. But can Duke go the distance?_

The man lumbered through the woods, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows over the ground.

He spied the lodge, and headed for it.

Inside, Duke was still sitting cross-legged in a lotus position, his body drenched with sweat, his eyes closed. At length, he lifted his head, and exhaled slowly.

The big man tore the blanket from over the door, and the sudden blast of cold air chilled Duke, and he opened his eyes.

_Aether_, the thing in his body shrieked, and Duke turned and rose to face him.

The scream resounded through the woods, and caused everyone in the little gathering to jump, save Henry.

"Looks like he found him," William grinned. But after a few moments, there was no sign of either Duke or the man, and William's grin faded a little.

"Go see what's keeping them," he directed the other man, and he too went off to see about things.

"How 'bout it, Pop, you ready to get things rolling?" William called to Henry.

"We begin at sunset," Henry answered in an even tone of voice.

"Well, you've got about five more minutes before that happens, so get rea-" he was cut off as a second shout came from the woods.

"What the hell are they doing to him?" Nathan shouted at William from where he was tied to a large tree with Dwight and Ellie.

"I don't know," William replied, his face puzzled. His aether-men weren't responding to him anymore. "How about you go and find out," he waved at one of the men who had accompanied Henry with his pistol.

The man stood up, and began to walk towards where the two men had gone into the woods. The light was fading fast, but they could just see the outline of someone emerging from the woods.

It was Duke. He approached slowly, lit by the bonfire, and alone.

"Well, finally," William said. "Where's my boys?"

Duke lifted his head, his eyes as black as night.

"Damn, you are one voracious little critter," William beamed. "Ah well-no matter. Plenty more where they came from."

"Yes," Duke answered. Audrey was dismayed to see Duke's eyes looked like twin pools of tar, and it wasn't fading away. It wouldn't be much longer now.

Duke made his way to the center of the maze, stopping on the circle within. "More," he said woodenly, standing in the center.

"That's my boy," William grinned.

"Duke," Audrey called, getting no answer. "Duke!"

"Duke's _gone_, honey," William said. "He's just a shell now. All that's left is that aether, and he's ready to blow. You, there," he directed at Charlotte, waving her to one of the female figures. "Audrey, you know the drill," he went on, as Audrey stood on the other. "Okay, Pop, you get one, I get the other," William finished as he came to stand on the remaining figure.

Henry watched as the sun slowly sank into the ocean out past the horizon, the light dimming as it set below the waves.

He lifted his medicine stick, and began to chant in an ancient language, passed down from his elders from their elders, all the way back to the beginnings of man's time on earth.

Audrey watched Duke. He was expressionless, his hands by his sides. He cast his aether-black eyes to the skies, and stretched his arms out over his head.

In town, people seemed to be snapping out of their fugue. First one, then two, then dozens, hundreds, possibly thousands of black balls, some large, some so small as almost to not be seen, were leaving their bodies.

They flew upward, massing almost as a flock of sparrows might, homing in on the direction they were being given, heading straight for Kick-Em-Jenny-Neck, and Duke Crocker.

Henry's chant increased, the two men with him keeping rhythm with their drums, and Charlotte gasped when she saw the size of the aether-cloud that was approaching.

"My God," she gasped.

"God's got nothin' to do with this," William said, his mouth agape. "This is _all_ me."

The aether-cloud hit the ground, shaking the ground beneath their feet, rolling toward them like a tsunami.

Audrey wanted to run, but she couldn't, her feet frozen into place on the maze. She saw Charlotte struggling to move as well, and realized that they couldn't run, no matter how hard they tried.

"_Mommy, run_!" Ellie screamed her horror.

Suddenly, Henry's chanting reached a crescendo, and the maze beneath their feet lit up, a brilliant white, illuminating Duke in the center.

The aether crashed against a seemingly invisible wall that surrounded the maze before it flattened out, and encircled them, a great black river.

"Audrey, jump!" Nathan cried from where he was tied with Dwight and Ellie.

"She can't," William said. "We're all stuck on Mr. Crocker's Wild Ride right to the end."

The aether thinned itself even more, and began to trickle into the lines of the maze, winding itself through intricately, making its way to Duke.

He knelt down, and it rushed to him, pouring itself into him through his hands.

"Duke, stop," Audrey pleaded.

"No, Duke, don't," William called out. "You drink in as much as you can hold."

If Duke heard either Audrey or William, he gave no indication of it. Still the aether kept coming, crowding itself into his body.

"Oh no," Charlotte whispered, watching as first Duke's veins, then his skin began to turn black. He was saturated with aether and still it kept coming, until at last it had stopped flowing.

Duke stepped aside, and the circle beneath his feet seemed to open up into infinity.

William strolled forward confidently, not noticing one of the men who had been drumming had crept up and released Dwight, Nathan and Ellie.

He walked toward the form of Duke, who looked as if he had been sculpted from the aether, his whole being soaked with black. Duke now held every Trouble that had ever been in Haven inside of him.

"Good stuff, huh?" he asked him. Duke turned his head toward him, as though he were trying to comprehend.

"I'll just be going, if you'll just move aside there," William said, trying to push by, but Duke held firm.

"Move," William ordered.

Aether-Duke drew a deep breath, and suddenly the aether vanished, leaving Duke as he usually appeared, save for his eyes were still black.

"What's the rush? Don't you want to see my little party trick?" he asked William.

"Wow, that's pretty good," William said. "I thought that stuff would've eaten you alive by now. But no, I'd really rather not see you explode, even though I imagine it will be truly spectacular," he went on. "Any last words before you blow this burg to Hell?" he asked Duke sweetly.

"Just two," Duke said.

"And what might they be? Get bent?"

Duke's eyes returned to normal.

"Fail safe."

"Come again?" William said blankly.

"Me regaining my memory was a fail safe," Duke said. "Charlotte rigged me to lose Paul Carter's memories after I solved my first Trouble."

"Why would she rig you to do that?"

"So that I would remember Nathan and Audrey," Duke said, looking at them, and they smiled at him in return. "But more importantly, I needed to remember _you_, William," he grinned wickedly. "My new personality was designed for one purpose."

"And what might that be?"

"To draw you out," Duke told him. "I told Charlotte that until we had you under control, the Troubles would continue to return and return. So I thought long and hard about how to do it. Twenty-seven years is a lot of time on your hands," he went on. I made sure Charlotte wiped both our memories of coming up with this scheme, so you wouldn't pick up on it."

"I don't understand," William said. "You should be _atoms_ by now, all of you!"

"They set up a sting and you fell for it, you dope," Dwight called. "Nice job, Duke."

Behind Duke, two men appeared from the open portal. William seemed to recognize them and his eyes widened.

"You've got a lot to answer for back home, William," Duke said.

William turned to run, and smack into Nathan's fist, knocking him down to the ground.

"Ow," Nathan said, grimacing. He realized he'd broken his right index finger. "I broke my finger." He looked at William, sprawled out on the ground. "But it was worth it."

The two men gathered up William, and began to take him back with them, but he broke loose.

Audrey saw the flash of the blade in his hand too late to scream out a warning, and Duke turned to face him.

William drew back and stabbed Duke in the stomach.

"Nooo!" Ellie screamed.

The two men fell on William again, this time taking him with them, and they wrestled the blade away.

"When he dies, he's gonna blow!" William screamed as they pulled him through the doorway, and the portal closed.

Audrey knelt down to Duke. The blood was pouring out of the wound in Duke's belly, it was deep, and fatal, she could see, the blood pulsing out of the wound in time with his heartbeat.

"Audrey," Duke gasped.

"Hold on," Nathan urged him. "We're gonna get you to the hospital," he began.

"Hospital's 50 miles away, Nathan," Duke sighed.

Dwight and Ellie knelt down beside him.

"William's right," Duke said. "Get out of here. When m-my heart stops, I'll release it. It'll be a thousand times worse," he told them, a lone tear streaking his cheek.

"You don't get to die, Duke Crocker," Audrey ordered him through her tears. "So you just forget about it."

"Sorry, Audrey," he said, his voice little more than a whisper. "You don't get to tell me what to do this time."

Suddenly, the Barn materialized in front of them, just outside the circle.

"The Barn," she gasped. "Take him in there—it'll keep him alive, like it did James."

Dwight and Nathan grabbed up Duke, hurrying him inside the endless white hallways.

"Charlotte!" Nathan bellowed, his voice echoing. "Charlotte, come help!"

"Hold on, buddy," Dwight began, looking back down at Duke. "We-" he trailed off. Duke's eyes were open, but Dwight knew that Duke was past seeing them anymore. He felt Duke's neck, his wrist, and then gently closed his eyes.

"He's gone," he said quietly.

"No," Audrey sobbed. "No, _no_!"

Nathan clutched Duke tightly against him for a long moment, and then gently laid him down before he turned to take Audrey and Ellie in his arms as they cried, tears streaking his own face. Dwight laid a big hand on Nathan's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Nathan," Dwight said. "He-" he trailed off. He'd turned back to look back at Duke's body, but it had disappeared. "Wh-where'd he go?"

"What?" Audrey gasped. "Duke? Where did he go?"

Charlotte appeared in the corridor.

"Where's Duke? What did you do with him?" Audrey demanded.

"He's safe. He's where the aether can't do any more harm to anyone on either side of our worlds."

"Will he come back?" Nathan asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "No. This was a one-way trip."

"Did he die?" Dwight said.

"No, he did not die. But he can't come back again," Charlotte said sadly. "He and the dark aether joined," she explained. "The Duke you knew, the physical Duke, that's gone. He became part of the dark aether. So now neither of them can be here anymore."

"We didn't even get to say goodbye," Audrey cried.

"Duke was never much one for goodbyes, you know that," Charlotte replied. "But he did leave this for you," she continued, handing Audrey an envelope.

With frantic fingers, Audrey tore open the envelope, unfolding the letter, recognizing Duke's erratic handwriting immediately.

It read:

_Dear Audrey, Nathan, and all fellow Havenites:_

_Well, if you are reading this, then I was successful at catching that nutcase William and solving the Troubles. The Troubles are done, gone forever, and now, so am I. That was kind of my plan all along. I wasn't being noble, keeping Audrey from the Barn, Nathan-I was being practical. I can't stay here-I'm changing, you see. Whatever I will be in the end, one thing is clear; I can't remain in this world. I also can't say that I'm happy about this either. That's just how it has to be._

_ It would have been nice to see what a 'normal' Haven looks like. I imagine it looks a lot like the old Haven, minus the dancing zombie bears, frog rains, and volcanoes. But it's not the town; it's the people that makes a place a home. I never felt I belonged there in Haven, or like I belonged anywhere, until I met you and Nathan. You were more of a brother to me than my own ever were, Nate. And Audrey—I guess you know how I've always felt about you. You two were-you two ARE my family, and no circumstances of time or place or distance will ever change that for me._

_The dark aether was not all evil, nor was it all good. It is whatever the person it is with is like, what's in their hearts. I know this, because I'm part of it. Not just because I absorbed it today; but because I was always a part of it. _

_When I came to Charlotte at the hospital just before I exploded, she tested me, just as she tested a lot of people. She found that my DNA markers were utterly unlike anything she'd seen before. At first, she thought it was because I'd been affected by the aether-but she found that it was inherited, not just from a Trouble, but genetically. _

_My mother-my real mother-was an 'other sider' too, Audrey—just a different part of the other side. Her name was Hannah Duke. She lived here in the Micmaq village as a nurse. Henry once told me that she was very pretty, and that I had her eyes. She and my father met after she bandaged him up after one of his 'hunting trips.' They fell in love. Dad never could resist a beautiful woman! He couldn't bring himself to kill her even after he found out what she was. He was too in love with her to do the deed; not to mention she was pregnant with yours truly. Turns out even Simon Crocker had standards. _

_She died giving me life, not far from the clearing we were in today, and I was given to my father to raise. He married my stepmom, for convenience, probably, because it sure wasn't for love. _

_I believe Dad on some level resented me for her death. Maybe that was why we were never close, or why he never told me about the Crocker curse. I never told you all this, because I didn't know a lot of it myself-but the Barn did. So much for me thinking he named me Duke because he was a John Wayne fan-he named me for her._

_I think it was also because I was from both worlds that I turned out like I did. I was Troubled, yes, but not enough to want to continue to hunt and kill the Troubled to end their curses as so many did before me. I knew there had to be another way-but it wasn't till Charlotte told me of my 'uniqueness' that I found it._

_Henry once told me the old parable of everyone having two wolves inside them, one good, one evil. The one that wins is the one you feed. For a long while, the bad wolf was winning with me, I can tell you. But you and Nathan changed me; and for that I am forever in your debt._

_So I'm off now, to some further adventure down the road. I will miss you and Nathan, and Ellie, and even Sasquatch too. Haven is a Haven once more._

_Omnia Vincet Amore—love really does conquer all._

_Duke_

"So it's really over?" Dwight asked Charlotte.

"Really over," Charlotte repeated.

"Where did Duke go to?" Audrey asked, wiping her eyes.

Charlotte smiled. "He said he wanted sun, sand and surf. Beyond that, I don't know."

"He's earned a rest," Dwight said simply.

The sun felt great, and Duke stretched his body in his hammock, nestling deeper into it, listening to the sounds of the ocean surf.

He felt a cold droplet hit his nose. He brushed it away, and two more drops fell on his face. He tilted his head, and glanced up in the direction of the icy water drops.

Jennifer was standing there with two beers in her hand. She was wearing a bikini that wasn't leaving much to his imagination, and he sat up on his elbows, not in the least surprised to see his long-dead girlfriend, and he smiled at her.

"Hi," she answered.

"Hi," Duke answered back. "One of those for me, I hope?"

"Yep," she replied, and crawled into the hammock with him.

"Where were you?" she asked, settling in against him, his hand around her waist.

"Busy," he replied.

"All done now?"

"All done."

_And now, I'm all done too. I hope you've enjoyed reading this! Please be kind eno__ugh to write a review!_


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